Lenses

Throughout our visits to different churches and temples we have sought to see past our own contexts in order to see the sacred in these foreign settings. The divine has defiantly been present, but in some of the more subtle and unexpected places at times. The people have shown us the sacred in their settings by demonstrating their encounter with it. We may not have seen the sacred in the objects and images presented (in the Hindu, Jewish, and even Christian settings), but we experienced the sacred when we were able to witness the Hindus whisper their prayers into the ears of a cow statue and in the chanting at the Orthodox Christian seminary and in the conversations with our fellow seminarians at Tamilnadu Theological Seminary and hearing the Islamic call to prayer chanted over the city buzz. We have witnessed the people of all faiths here in India pray and celebrate God and we are slowly learning to celebrate with them. Perhaps not in the same way as them, but by recognizing the sacredness of their experiences and faith.

M and V