*Ramadan Mubarak!

​So, I jet back to Oklahoma Monday and Tuesday to do a Graveside Life Celebration for the mother of a friend in Oklahoma City. I was in Oklahoma City for only 24 hours and for the first time since I left in May of 2016 to come to New Jersey. It was a quick turn-around! I got to see some old friends from my advertising career. It was great to catch up! 
 
One of my old friends brought me back to the airport for the flight home and on the way there, she’s telling me about her daughter’s fiancé. The guy’s mother used to be Muslim and she converted to Christianity a few years ago and wrote a book about the experience. 
 
Islam is our friend, Christians. Go back in Genesis and read the story of Abraham and Sarah. At first they can’t have kids, so Sarah gives her slave woman, Hagar, to Abraham to produce offspring. Ishmael is born! Later, God opens Sarah and she gives birth to Isaac. Fast forward, Sarah’s got a child of her own now and no longer has any interest in Ishmael and Hagar. 
 
Abraham kicks them out of the house! Now do you remember God’s promise to Abraham that he will make a great nation? That his offspring will be as numerous as the stars in the sky? Yes, that promise. That promise includes Ishmael. God promises Abraham that from Ishmael will descend an entire nation just like from Isaac! 
 
So—from Ishmael comes the nation of Islam. These are our spiritual brothers and sisters—the whole other family descended from Abraham. Judeo-Christians and Muslims are all sons and daughters of Abraham! We worship the same God, but Islam calls our God by the Arabic name—Allah. 
 
This Saturday at sundown marks the beginning of the high Holy Month of Ramadan. 
 
I’ll never forget my first Ramadan Iftar. 
 
I was invited to the breaking of the fast with a friend from college and his Muslim community at Oklahoma State back in the day. So much fun! And great food! Good times!
 
Ramadan falls in the 9th month of the Islamic calendar. Like our Easter and Lent, the date moves around because their calendar is 11 days shorter than ours. 
 
It’s similar in a lot of ways to Lent but their traditions are more strict than ours. For example, for our fast we “give up something for Lent” to be reminded of Jesus’ fasting in the desert for his 40 days. 
 
The Islamic fast is every day, with no food or drink of any kind from sunrise to sunset for the 29 or 30 days of Ramadan. Every day! The symbolism of the fast allows them to understand the suffering of others. They spend their time (just as we might in Lent) focused on spiritual reflection, prayer, good deeds, time with family and friends, and reading the Qur’an. 
 
They wake with the “Suhoor” or morning meal before sunrise. Then, fast all day and break the fast after sunset with the “Iftar” meal. Two meals a day for a month. Typically, the Iftar is a time to celebrate with friends and family and community which they often do during the holiday. 
 
There are exemptions to the fasting ritual. It’s obligatory but there’s slack for children and the elderly, those who are sick, women who are pregnant or nursing babies, and if you’re traveling a long distance. If you’re sick during Ramadan, you’re obligated to make up the fasting at later time. 
 
Just like our Lent, Ramadan is a time for Muslims to commit themselves to their faith and more to God. 
 
The end of the holiday comes at first sight of the new moon in the sky—just like Easter is the first Sunday after the full moon after the Spring Equinox. And, Muslims all over the world observe the end of Ramadan with a big festival called Eid al-Ritr—“The Breaking of the Fast.” Family and friends gather to thank Allah for the blessing, support, and strength during the month of fasting. The custom is to give alms at Eid, that is: donate to the poor and those in the margins. 
 
As we’re making the turn to our final days of Lent, they’re just getting started. These are incredible holidays. And I always try to remember to cut them some slack because they’re not just skipping lunch—they cannot eat or drink anything at all between first light and sunset. That’s a long day!
 
Ramadan Mubarak,
Scott
 
*Happy Ramadan!