ON THE COMMON GOOD?
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this Tuesday in the Second Week
of Easter is, “What’s Our Take on the Common Good?”
Today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 4, talks about common
possessions - common ownership - having
everything in common - everyone putting their money in the common pot.
The history of the Catholic Church, Christianity, has groups
who lived with everything in common.
We know that Jesus and his disciples did this. At the end of Lent we heard that Judas held the purse and he used it to help
himself from the common treasury. We know from the Acts of the Apostles that
early Christian communities followed that practice - that way of living.
We know from the history of the church there have been
religious orders who pooled their time,
treasure and talents together. I took a vow of poverty in 1960 and I have never
had to worry about a home and food and money ever since. It’s an easier way of
doing life.
A friend of mine - a Redemptorist said that he tried the Trappist’s
- and in the house he lived in - all wash was done together and you’d take
large t-shirts an 34 jockey shorts or
boxers from the common pile if that was your size.
I’ve been asked 1000 times: do you have your own vestments?
Do you have your own bank account? Do you have your own car? Take cars: all of us priests here drive the
car we have been given and if a guy is stuck and his car ain’t working, you can
ask another guy to borrow his so called “his car” till his car is fixed.
We used to have common ownership of cars - but the practice
changed when people realized that some guys wouldn’t fill up the gas in a car
for the next guy - or keep an eye on its being serviced. In general, we found out that if all take
care of the cars, sometimes nobody is taking care of some cars - and the next
guy is not in the know
We know from our world that some people have started
communes.
We know that some countries and sections of the world came
up with ideas like communism.
What’s your take on the common good - and cult like groups -
and the common life - and property etc. etc. etc.?
In our day, we know that people is this parish are very
generous with their time as well as their money to especially to help the poor.
What are your thoughts about the common good and the common
life of folks?
Thomas Merton was a Trappist Novice Master and he once said
on a tape I was listening to, “If I had to do this job of novice master all
over again, I would tell the novices, ‘Don’t slam doors. Think of the other
guys.”
In other words, when doing life, “Think of the next guy!”
Here are some mixed thoughts about common ownership of
property and life.
FAMILY
We could start with marriage and the family - that we are
obligated to care for and are members
of.
It’s called family - the family car, the house, the common
table and refrigerator.
We spot a nice last piece of apple pie on the next to the
bottom shelf of the refrigerator - and we think, “I’ll have that tonight around
9 PM” and we open up the refrigerator
and it’s gone.
Bummer.
Who gets the clicker for the television? Who fills and who
empties the dish washer?
The common life and ownership provides the opportunity to
learn how to not be selfish and think of others.
Living as family - we learn who is selfish and who is
generous.
We learn the difference between me, me, me and we, we, we.
OUR BIGGER HOME: THE EARTH
Concerned about time, some of you got to get to work - so
let me just cover one other common good place: our home - this earth.
The earth is our home.
I learned from the famous architect and social commentator, Buckminster
Fuller [1895-1983] Please take good care of
the common bathrooms - the public restrooms - along the highway stops of
life. It’s my bathroom too. Think of the
next person.
If you are tossing a paper towel into a waste basket and you
miss your shot, get the rebound, and dunk it into the basket.
As you know there are folks who want to deregulate
environmental protections here in the
United States. If I mention this from the pulpit, I might be handed a letter of
complaint that I’m being political.
As a kid when we took the Sea Beach Express train to Coney
Island we went over a small bridge over some water which we all called,
“Perfume Bay”. It's real name is, 'The Gowanus Canal." We kids would hold our noses with our fingers and go,
“Oooooooh!” at the smell.”
So I have been aware of polluted waters - bad air - and
dirty bathrooms all my life - not just in 2018.
When I hear that some people want to cut down on regulations
on carbon emissions, etc. etc. etc. I think of the day about 20 years ago when
I crossed the border in Nogales, Arizona going into Nogales, Mexico. We were
heading for Magdalena, Mexico. I noticed
the change in air almost immediately. Cars were coughing smoke - and I was taking it
in. I asked the 3 other people I was with, “Do they have emissions tests in
Mexico?” They laughed at me.
I think of cigarette smoking regulations here in the United
States. There has been a vast change in thinking and practice about smoking in
the last 25 or is it 50 years.
Emphysema is a reality. “Cough. Cough. Cough!”
I’m sure you have heard about the air pollution in Beijing.
China. The place is filled with smoke and air pollution. It’s hard to see the
distance some days.
Finally, there are people making the effort to improve the
quality and the environment. It’s happening.
I think of deregulations of laws when it comes to strip
mining in Kentucky. Instead of mine shafts and all that, the method of getting
at the coal became strip mining. Mountain tops are removed with bulldozers and
all the coal is exposed. Then after all the coal is gotten, it’s left alone.
When snow melts and rain flows down the mountain, homes and places in the
valley and hollows are flooded. There are fines - which companies pay the local
governments - which are far less expensive than replanting trees and resoding and resoiling the earth.
The Golden Rule is not being kept.
Think of the other guy - not refilling one’s wallet.
The earth is our home.
I hear people criticizing our pope and his concern for our mother
earth - and praising those who want to deregulate. Hello! It’s the money. It costs money to keep
our waters clean - to stop pollution of air and water. So why wouldn’t big
polluters want deregulation and attack those who are for Mother Earth.
Hello! Pro-lifers of the world scream for the health of
Mother Earth and the abortion of life around us.
We live here near the water - concern for the water - which
is 77 % of the globe - is concern for each other.
CONCLUSION
Let’s hope the common good, becomes our constant common
concert.
Don’t litter - write letters of concern.
Don’t pollute - march, make signs, promote a healthy
environment.
It’s for our common good.
