Contemplating Interfaith Dialogue

Dear God of every searching heart,

When I read Luke 8:1-3, I am struck by the company Jesus kept. Here was a rabbi walking the dusty roads of Galilee flanked by the most unlikely fellowship imaginable — Mary Magdalene, once tormented by seven demons; Joanna, wife of Chuza, who managed King Herod's own household; Susanna, about whom we know almost nothing. A woman from the margins, a woman from the palace, and a woman history nearly forgot — all breaking bread at the same fire.

Jesus did not demand they sort out their differences before joining him. He simply walked, and they followed, and somehow the walking together became the theology.

Lord, as I contemplate what it means to sit across the table from someone whose prayers sound different from mine, give me the courage of Joanna — who risked her standing in Herod's court to follow an itinerant preacher — and the humility of Mary, who knew what it meant to be set free and therefore could never look down on another soul.