Opening Ourselves to God

Dialogue and openness to "the other", brings us closer to the fullness of God

By Danny Gillis
February 2006

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When I was a young man living in a tribal village in the Philippines, a neighbour asked me one night why was I there. "Is it to bring God to us?" she asked. This woman, Deliruy, was in many respects "the other" — a Manobo whose lips and filed teeth were orange from the betel nut she chewed and whose ear lobes were elongated from the beads she strung from one ear to the other. She was a mother of ten children, head of her household even before her husband died of beriberi. She was an animist whose spiritual beliefs were far different from what I learned in church and catechism.

We were sitting with friends at a rickety table in my thatched hut, the bare earth for our floor, a small kerosene gas lamp our only light. I was among these people as a Scarboro lay missioner and this was 20 years ago, yet I still recall the feeling I had when the question was posed and I still remember my instinctive reply.

Taken aback, I said, "I'm not here to bring God to you. God was here among you long before any of us missioners came." Deliruy clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. She was pleased with my answer.

At one time missionaries had the reputation of knowing the truth about God and the job of bringing this truth to non-believers. But for a long time now, much of mission has involved the fuller comprehension of God through dialogue and openness to "the other"—people who are different and unfamiliar to us. Mission has become a journey of mutual sharing, helping each other to come to the fullness of God. As Pope John Paul II said, "By dialogue we let God be present in our midst, for as we open ourselves to one another, we open ourselves to God."

Christians have much Good News to share. We know God is a loving God, a God of liberation and justice, a God who especially favours the poor. It is a privilege to share this with others. And in turn, others have much to share with us. Even in animist cultures that may not have a word for the one God, God is there, and the Spirit is in communication with humanity.

For example, the ways that the tribal people of the Philippines lived in harmony with nature for thousands of years, never diminishing the bounty of forest and sea, teaches us about God's gentle love made manifest through the miracle of creation, and our responsibility to preserve it.

Discovering God's footprint within cultures around the world is an important topic for those who are involved in interfaith dialogue. Grade 12 student Ryan Nutter writes in this issue, "As far back as I can remember I have had a fascination with people who are different from me." This attitude has opened Ryan and many of his friends to a greater knowledge of God so that these young Christians are building bridges with other faiths. In a world where too much of our experience of "the other" is filtered through news headlines that promote bigotry, we can take heart in such openness and leadership.

This issue of Scarboro Missions speaks about the importance of valuing "the other". Walking with people of other lands and cultures, we learn that our own experience of God is greatly enhanced when we discover the truth that "God is already there."

Danny Gillis is a writer and former Scarboro lay missioner now living in Antigonish, Nova Scotia.

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