The Common Good

October 14, 2007

 

Here is a concept for you: "the common good". Apparently it was a subject of some serious philosophical and even political discourse at one time. Nowadays it is hard to imagine such a conversation. Now the subject is self-interest, special -interests, national interests, etc. The only thing we have in common as those who reside on planet earth, it seems, is a conflict of interests. Our interests seem to be in conflict but are they, really? I don't think it is a stretch to imagine that the vast majority of people themselves from wherever would all agree that they want to build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat the produce therein., marry and have children, and generally speaking enjoy the fruits of the earth and life in all of its abundance and beauty.

 

A clue as to why such a thing has never happened and probably never will is found in the story of Jeremiah, the sad prophet who was an exile amongst exiles because he dared to speak for God the truth. A prophet by the way, it seems to me, is simply one who tells the truth. In this case Jerusalem has finally been overrun by Babylon and the royal family has been carried off and the people themselves scattered in exile in Babylon etc and Jeremiah announces that what God wants is for the people (wherever they find themselves) to build houses and live in them, plant garden and eat the produce, marry and have families and, oh, by the way, seek the welfare of Babylon, the conquerors, the ones who have ruined your life and changed everything, pray for them, care for them.   

 

Make no mistake this was as crazy and unpopular then as it is now. Jeremiah was called a traitor and imprisoned. Some wanted him dead. It is dangerous to seek the welfare of the enemy. It is dangerous in the time of fear to speak of a common good. In such a climate the only good enemy is a dead enemy. The question becomes not what is good for all but whose side are you on?  And of course with that question the conversation is over.

 

If ever there was a case for God actually speaking through people it would be in this word for it is a word that is surprisingly, even shockingly unexpected and unwanted. No sensible human being, prophet or no, would offer exactly the opposite view of what everybody else is thinking and wanting. Where are the prophets today? Everybody is saying the same thing and it is the same thing we all expect them to say. But not Jeremiah. Perhaps there is a God after all. One who is not afraid to speak the truth that no one wants to hear. Where else is it going to come from? Certainly not from the Evening News. Even Jeremiah had tried to get out of being the one who had to speak for God but had long ago given up resisting God's will.

 

Oddly enough most of us are quite good at resisting God's will. It is as easy as simply doing what we want. Of course wars are said to be fought by God's will so just saying it's God's will doesn't make it so. That is why this word from Jeremiah is so exciting because it is so not business as usual. It is just the sort of thing that God would do, something completely different than what we would do.

 

Clearly the tension between what God wants and what we humans want provides the context for the biblical story which goes on to include our story of course because it is no less than the story of the relationship between humankind and God on planet earth. God is continually and consistently challenging our inclinations to self-centeredness for a life centered in God which also then places us in a different relationship with the rest of humanity once we are removed from the center. It is the recognition, at the very least, that we share a common humanity. 

 

Jesus was always breaking down the boundaries between people. The Gospel lesson today is a classic example. Why didn't Jesus just heal the lepers himself? Why send them to the priests? Well, maybe it was because the priests taught that the lepers were unclean and that the priest themselves needed some healing. And why did the story take place on the boundary between Samaria and Galilee? Because these two regions had a long tradition of conflict and hatred and otherness. And why as he tells it was it only the Samaritan that came back to give thanks? Could Jesus be challenging the expectations of his listeners? And what does he mean when he tells the Samaritan that he is well. Wasn't he already healed and that is why he came back to give thanks? Well, maybe there is more to being well than being physically healed. 

 

We cannot even begin to imagine a common good if we cannot include everyone in our common humanity. No one is to be left out. No one is outside of our concern. Clearly this is one of the things Jesus is telling us. Again, what God wants and what we do are in conflict. Perhaps we are afraid to be concerned for those who hate us and would hurt us, afraid we will be called traitors. But perhaps we should also be concerned for the ways we betray God's vision of a peaceable kingdom when we allow ourselves to be manipulated into hating each other yet again.

 

The writer of the letter to Timothy has the best advice for us today. It is timely advice for us. He writes simply: Remember Jesus Christ, that is my gospel. You know there are a lot of books being published these days that want to bury the whole notion of God for good. God is an easy target of course. How do we relate to God? What is God? Sometimes I even feel foolish speaking of this invisible, idea, this God who is everywhere and nowhere, near and far, with us and apart from us, this incomprehensibly large abstraction but Jesus I can understand. This is a real man who did incredible things out of his courage and faithfulness. He challenged the everyday wisdom of humankind, the habits and easy posturing of our selfish and meaningless lives calling us from behind the walls and barbed wire of our various armed camps to come together and love one another. At great personal risk, come together and love one another. There are other religious and non-religious witnesses who have beautiful things to say, enlightened words that help, but there is only this one who breaks our hearts. It is he who leads me to God. He gives God a face and a sensibility so God is not just an abstraction but can be seen and understood and if what Jesus showed me in his life is what God is about then I want to know this God. Such a God does not just morph into what I want but challenges everything that I want. I can believe in God because of Jesus for Jesus is like the Word in Jeremiah, completely unexpected, so not business as usual ( so much so in fact he could only have come from God) and that has not changed since. The challenge is still before us to hear what Jesus taught.

 

 

Only love will ever find the common good because that is what we all have in common. Everyone wants love and everyone is capable of loving. God help us, we face impossible odds, but the challenge is before us nonetheless to seek new ways to be human together. We assume that it has always been like it is and so it always will be but maybe always in this case has an endpoint. Maybe there will come a time when everything we know is no more and maybe it will not be because someone took it away but because we threw it away.

 

We live in interesting times. For the first time in history really the very life of the planet (the ground we stand on) itself is threatened. We hear about the poisons that are found in the products we use. From lipstick to cough medicine to toys. This week it was the air we breathe in cities can make us sick. The report also said that if we eat plenty of fruit and vegetables we could balance the effect of smog but of course that is only if our fruit and vegetables are not poisoned. How can this be? 

 

Well, it may be an oversimplification to say it, but could it not be that all of these problems are related to not seeking the welfare of the city, not caring about the common good or even about anything except what we think will serve our own needs best? How ironic would it be if by getting everything we want we destroy ourselves?

 

Oh my, this can't be the last word, there is a Gospel and it goes like this: Remember Jesus Christ. He challenges us and he heals us. It may even be that he will save us if we ever wake up to the fact that we need him to save us. Life is about waking up and being healed and then being grateful. It is about giving thanks and being made well. It is about living faithfully in a terrifying world unafraid to be different when needed, to say what needs to be said, to not go along with the mob, to see beyond what we are told to see, to resist the boundaries of hatred and fear, to sew love everywhere, because faith is faith in the love that knows no bounds, that overcomes all that would destroy us, even ourselves.

We can love our neighbor as ourselves. We can live for each other. We can live for the world and not just for ourselves. We can serve the common good. Love is still possible because God gave us a love in Jesus that just won't die. Thanks be to God.