A Christmas Gift for Mohammed

On Wednesday I went to go drop off my Christmas present for Mohammed at the mosque.
It was a difficult task (what do you give a Muslim from Bangladesh who doesn't have much and has never celebrated Christmas before?) but found a great clay vase/pot/bowl at a fantastic international fair trade store called Ten Thousand Villages. The artisan who made it was from Bangladesh. In his native language the artisan carved his story around the rim of the bowl.  I thought it would be perfect - something small and simple to remind him of home and of our friendship.

I carried my (poorly) wrapped box in the mosque (gift-wrapping is one of my spiritual un-gifts) and went into his office. He was very appreciative when he opened it.
Then he said, "What is this for?"

I told him it was a Christmas gift.

He put down the gift down and said, "Can you tell me what Christmas is? Is Christmas a religious holiday in America? What is it about?"

For a second I thought, Is he pulling my leg? I mean, I know he's Muslim but who doesn't know what Christmas is in America??

But he was dead serious.

I told him about Christ's birth, the greatest gift God gave the world and how we give gifts to each other as a reminder of the gift of Jesus that was given to us. I told him its a big deal for Christians, but its been perverted and skewed to become a secular commercial holiday for many people. But it is a very significant time of remembrance and celebration for followers of Jesus.

I said that Christmas is the bookend to Easter - one we celebrate his birth, the other his death.
He looked at me with a puzzled look on his face.

"What do you mean that you celebrate Jesus' death?" he asked.

Then I asked him: "Do you know what Easter is?"
Nope.

"Do you know what the cross is?"
Nope.

"Do you know what the Resurrection is?"
Nope.

"Do you know what grace is?"
Nope.

"Have you ever heard of the word 'gospel'?"
Nope.

So, for the next ten minutes I shared the gospel story with Mohammed and he told me he had never heard anything like that before.
He, of course, had heard about the prophet Jesus, but didn't know his story.

I'm sitting there thinking, I live about one mile from Mohammed and this guy didn't know the story of the gospel, or what Christmas was about or the significance of Easter!

I am reminded - and amazed - at how much the world needs to hear the story of the Gospel this Christmas. The opportunities are out there, if we have eyes to see them.

Comments

[Andrew Tatum]

Thanks for this post! It is amazing what we assume people know and how arrogant it must seem to them. You've also pointed out how much work must be done toward developing hapits of holistic Gospel living so that people know "the reason for the hope that we have."

Blessings to you this Christmas!

Andrew S. Tatum

[Christine Sine]

A beautiful story. Thanks for posting this

[Kelly]

Great story. Better reminder to us all. It would have been easier to give a short answer, I am sure, but easy is rarely what is asked of us.

[Wayne Dietrich]

Wow.

[John A. Leman]

That's really something JR. I'd love to learn more about your experience with Mohammed.