Needlessly dividing...seeking common good

In Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, Thomas Merton offers this definition of a pharisee: "A pharisee is a righteous [person] whose righteousness is nourished by the blood of sinners." Merton has in mind not only the Pharisaic party we often see portrayed negatively in the New Testament but also people who embody that portrayal. Pharisees claim righteousness only by pointing to the corruptness in an opponent's methods, purposes, or person. For pharisees to feel or be good or right, opponents have to be evil or wrong.

Such thinking and practice abound, needlessly dividing the world into mutually exclusively categories and making it difficult for us to build on what we have in common. It also claims identity by stating what we are not rather than what we are.

Evil and good abide in all of us and we all have the capacity for wickedness and righteousness. Certain people clearly choose to act on their capacity for wickedness more than their righteousness, but the good do not need for that to happen in order to choose to act differently. Every denial of the sanctity of life, every thought or act that damages community and everything that brings out our worst instead of our best is tragic. That tragedy does not diminish when those who deem themselves good isolate themselves, but when we deepen our resolve to celebrate life, build community, and identify that on which we can work together. We rarely have the opportunity to choose between something clearly and totally wicked and something clearly and totally good. Rather we have opportunities to discern the path or option that seems best. Those who prefer a different path or option are not necessarily wicked. They may use different criteria in their decision making. Debating those criteria does more good than vilification, even when we fail to reach consensus.

Needing an opponent to be wrong to deem ourselves right often evades accountability. When I adamantly declare that I am not Catholic, evangelical, Republican, Russian, or contrarian, I have not stated who or what I am. We all benefit when preachers, politicians, pundits, and people with opinions clarify not what they oppose but what they stand for, deem important, and most want and value. The dust and heat of vitriol typically only harm. Dreams and hopes of what can be, even when varied, at least make it possible to help and to heal.

We are such wonderfully diverse creatures that seeking the common good is never easy. Yet, the possibilities make it worth the effort. Paul had something like that in mind when he advised, "Beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things" (Philippians 4:8). We cannot avoid opponents and adversaries, but we can avoid deeming them demonic. Let's reach for righteousness in ways that reflect our conviction that God provides sufficient righteousness for us all.

Grace and Peace,

LP

Transitions - leading to new or renewed promise and life!

I recently completed my annual self-review, using a tool recommended to me a decade ago. The early steps of this process invite you to look back on your life and to identify the milestones: significant dates, people, places, and occupations; key events; and dreams, aspirations, and interests. After charting that "evolution" of your life, you look for patterns and what they have to teach.

Since I have used this resource regularly, I have several charts of my evolution. This year, as always, some differences expectedly flowed from another year of life. But I also observed that the milestones I chose had more impact than I had realized on the patterns I identified and what I learned from them. When most of my milestones focused on endings, I typically responded by scrambling to recover. When my milestones emphasized beginnings, I felt drawn to new and renewed promises. Although both seem necessary, I'd much rather have the latter primarily shape me.

Death of a loved one, divorce, and undesired dismissal force our evolution. To remain healthy (however we measure that) we must deal with them honestly so that we can heal and recover. Some scrambling seems unavoidable. Yet, beginnings beckon even in those profound endings. Something wonderful has been lost, but vestiges of the wonder remain.

On other occasions, we can decide whether to focus on the ending or the beginning. When a child leaves home for college, military service, or to establish another home, some things end. She or he may "visit" again or may return to the nest for a season, but precious years of a certain kind of life together are over. Yet, we can also view that as the beginning of our child's reaching for dreams, stretching toward a hope, and building on the foundation we helped to lay. That makes it possible for us to begin forming an adult relationship with our child, which offers a different but no less precious kind of life together.

What most defines us? What do we most want to define us? Who we have been and what we have done ever remain with us. Do they define our parameters or provide a place from which to reach for new and renewed life? Regardless of our age or stage in life, do we primarily recover from what has been or reach for what now is and can be? Paul declared that we belong to God in both life and death. From a Christian perspective, even death yields to new beginnings. An old prayer for memorial services asks God to help us live as people who are not afraid to die. That does not call for martyrdom and does not diminish the loss that comes with death. Rather it reminds us that death does not define us. Endings will always come, thanks be to God. Yet, each one yields to new or renewed promise and life. May we embrace endings and beginnings, but allow and ask for the latter to define us.

Grace and Peace,

LP