Where all Families are Holy

By Reverend Deacon Jerry Bauman

Our reading from Genesis today (Genesis 1:11,12, 20-22, 24-30) is an allegory. It is a symbolic story of How God gave us everything and called us to share in the creative process.  Rather than to provide a scientific or historical timetable of the universe’s origins, this story aims to show that God created the world and designed it to be hospitable for humanity. The primary purpose is to communicate spiritual truths as it reveals our relationship with the Creator and the natural world.

The earth produces vegetation, including seed-bearing plants and fruit-bearing trees, with each plant reproducing so it keeps providing into the future. God creates the great sea creatures and every kind of living thing in the water and every kind of winged bird and tells them to “be fruitful and multiply” to fill the waters and the earth. God commands the earth to bring forth living creatures of all kinds: livestock, wild animals, and creatures that crawl on the ground. God says, “Let us make humans in our image, in our likeness; male and female.” God blesses them and tells them to “be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.” God gives them dominion over all the other creatures. God provides every green plant as food for the animals and seed-bearing plants and fruit-bearing trees as food for the humans.

In our reading from paragraph 67 of the encyclical Laudato Si’, Pope Francis addresses the misinterpretation of biblical teachings on “dominion” over the Earth. This paragraph throws out the idea that since we are created in God’s image and we have been given dominion, somehow we are justified in absolute, destructive domination over creation. It instead teaches that a proper interpretation requires humanity to “till and keep” the garden of the world. “Tilling” refers to cultivating, plowing or working, while “keeping” means caring, protecting, overseeing and preserving. This implies a relationship of mutual responsibility between human beings and nature. Each community can take from the bounty of the earth whatever it needs for sustenance, but it also has the duty to protect the earth and to ensure its fruitfulness for coming generations.

Today’s Gospel from Luke (Luke 15:11-32) contains the well-known Parable of the Prodigal Son. You’ve heard preaching on the openly rebellious, ‘lost’ son’s repentance for his choice of a life of sin. His pursuit of his own individual happiness ultimately fails, leaving him destitute and desperate. He is, of course, the typical squanderer: misusing his inheritance, making bad choices, then slinking home after he hits hard times to beg back into the family as a servant. He has done everything wrong that is possible to do wrong – a family embarrassment. But that realization only sinks-in when he comes to his senses after hitting rock bottom. This demonstrates how a focus on the self can destroy one’s own well-being and harm the wider community.

And you’ve heard preaching on the self-righteous, older brother, the angry one, crying out, ‘it’s not fair’. You know, the one who thinks his obedience earned him favor because he’s done everything right. And, of course, he thinks good things always seem to come to those, like his brother, who have done nothing right. The older brother’s resentment, anger, and bitterness reveal a form of self-centeredness that is as bad as his brother’s. He served his father not from love, but from a sense of entitlement and a desire for reward. His inability to celebrate his brother’s return threatens the family’s reconciliation and peace. He represents the danger that self-righteousness and lack of forgiveness pose to the common good.

Let’s put a new spin on Jesus’ message, hear it in a new context.

Jewish law discouraged a father from distributing his property before his death. In first-century Jewish society, inheritance was typically given after the father’s death. When the younger son asks his father for his share of the inheritance, the son is essentially saying, “I wish you were dead”. A son requesting his share early was an insult, implying he valued his father’s money more than the father’s life. When the younger son squandered his wealth, he didn’t just lose money; he brought immense shame upon his family and community.

In that culture, his return would be met with a ritual called kezazah, where townspeople would publicly cut him off from the community by breaking a large pot filled with burnt beans at his feet. The father’s running to meet his son is a deliberate subversion of these social norms. In that society, a wealthy man would never run in public; it was considered undignified. The father’s actions served to prevent the kezazah ceremony by publicly embracing and kissing his son, signifying his full and immediate acceptance.

If you’ll recall, the father wasn’t even listening to the returning son’s speech about what he had done wrong. The father just gives him some important symbols—the best robe, a ring, and sandals—each one, a powerful cultural symbol of restoration. The robe: The “best robe” signifies honor and dignity, a complete reversal of his humiliation. The ring: A signet ring represented family authority and status. Giving his son the ring restored his identity as a legitimate heir. Sandals: Servants and the poor went barefoot. The sandals showed that the prodigal was returning as a free, honored member of the family, not as a servant.

Now the parable moves beyond a simple story of forgiveness to one of radical, undeserved grace that defies all social expectations of the day. The father was so overjoyed to have his family together again, that he didn’t care about anything else.

It’s not fair, or deserved, or earned. It isn’t “right” in the sense that we see “rightness.” It doesn’t match our standards of justice or fairness.

The parable highlights two distinct threats to the common good: The harm that results from individuals breaking with the community to pursue selfish gain. The damage caused by individuals that withhold grace and forgiveness from the members of the community, even those who repent. The common good requires both the restoration of the wayward and the realignment of the righteous.

I believe the lesson in these readings today is that God is always working towards the “Common Good”. And as God called us to participate in the work of creation we must be working towards that goal of a common good as well.

The Hebrew scriptures call us to look beyond our own self-interests to create a just community. And the Gospels teach us to love God with all our heart, mind, and soul, while at the same time, loving our neighbors as ourselves. The demands of the common good are firmly rooted in Catholic Social Teaching and deeply connected to the fundamental dignity of each person.

When Jesus taught people to love their neighbors as themselves and treat others as they would be treated, he was teaching people to seek the Common Good.

When Paul said, “Do not seek your own personal interests alone, but also the interests of others,” he was teaching the Common Good,

When John said, “Since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another,” he was teaching the Common Good.

When Jesus said, “Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me,” he was inviting us to seek the Common Good.

When Jesus said, “You cannot serve both God and money,” he was teaching the common good.

The Common Good teaches us to seek what’s best for everyone, beginning with the last, the least, the lost, the most vulnerable, and the most forgotten.

What are some of the goals we should be working for; what are some examples of the common good? We could start by asking ourselves, “What would be the best world to leave to our grandchildren?”

A world where everyone has clean air, water, and land.

A world where everyone has fresh, healthy, and nutritious food to eat.

A world where no one has to fear for their lives when they go to school, or to church, or anywhere else.

A world where everyone desiring an education can get one without crushing debt for most of their adult lives.

A world where everyone can find fairly priced housing.

A world where everyone can worship in whatever way fits their needs

     or not at all.

A world where everyone’s basic health-care needs are a right.

A world where everyone can provide for their families with fair and equitable employment.

A world where you don’t have to consider going to work if you’re sick.

A world where everyone’s quality of life is more important than profit.

A world where resources are dedicated to helping others and not to war.

A world where everyone has access to travel and cultural endeavors.

A world where everyone is politically engaged

     even when it’s not election time.

A world where no one is lied-to by their political leaders and the media.

A world where we’re not focused on revenge and retribution.

A world where all people, and all, means all … people, are treated equally.

How does this work?  What would this look like?

Remember a few years ago, when the president was trying to forgive student loan debt?

And some said “That’s not fair because I had to pay-off all of my own student loans.” They weren’t considering the common good.

And then, when states were trying to raise the minimum wage to a level where people could start to move out of poverty?

Those who said “That’s not fair because I’ve worked all my life to get to $15 an hour and now others are making the same as I am,” weren’t considering the common good.

And then, when queer couples were wanting the same protections and benefits under the law that had always been afforded to straight couples?

Those who said, “That’s not fair because I don’t agree with their lifestyle,” weren’t considering the common good.

And every time gun control is brought-up to address America’s gun problem …almost daily shootings … close to 48,000 deaths a year … 58% of these suicides.

Those who say “That’s not fair because everyone has a right to have powerful weapons in their home,” aren’t considering the common good.

As a moral measure, the common good is a tool to evaluate whether our choices, policies, and institutions align with the ideal of creating conditions that allow everyone to thrive.

Will the common good ever be achieved? Probably not, but being an unfinished ideal, it continually calls us to see, judge, and act to build a world where everyone can thrive. The common good requires a concern for the entire world community.

We have different cultures, different politics, different experiences that have shaped our beliefs. But if we can establish that we’re working toward some common good, whether we like each other or not, then we can see that we are brothers and sisters in Christ. Let’s all stop worrying about whether we like each other and choose to believe instead that we’re capable of being good ancestors together for future generations.

Amen Holy Family?