Advent Calendar Day 21: Halfway out of the dark

Today is as dark as it gets. Tomorrow will be different. Well done, well done, everyone. We’re halfway out of the dark.*

If today is a holy day for you, may it be a blessed one.

And if today is not a holy day for you, then, well, it should be. It’s a day after all, and we only get so many of those.

Given the theme in Dar Williams’ song above — a prayer for love amidst pluralism — maybe today is a good time to remind ourselves of Krister Stendahl’s “Three Rules of Religious Understanding.” The late Bishop of Stockholm likely first articulated these in response to his fellow Christians who were protesting the construction of a temple in that city by Latter Day Saints.

1. When trying to understand another religion, you should ask the adherents of that religion and not its enemies.
2. Don’t compare your best to their worst.
3. Leave room for “holy envy.”

* Unless, of course, you’re reading this in the southern hemisphere. In which case, well done to you as well, but also please bookmark this page and refer back to here on June 21, 2019.