Scripture provides a balance of the individual and the community in the values it espouses. The vision that Christ sets before us as our goal is the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom is embodied in Christ but is meant to be a social reality, a community rooted in the will of God. While our individual choices are important, the image of the Last Judgment in Matthew 25 is of a vast array of people standing before God. They are being judged based on their actions of charity toward the least of their brothers. While the actions may have been performed by the individuals that make up the vast throng of people, the emphasis in the story is on the community. This emphasis on community is carried forward by Paul, who offers us the image of the Mystical Body of Christ; that is, Christ at work in the world through the Church. We are not extolled as individuals but as different organs of one body, which is the reality of Christ at work in the world today.
Among the last prayers that Christ offered in on the Mount of Olives before being taken away to suffer the crucifixion was a prayer for unity; that they may be one! It is difficult to give witness to the value of love if we can’t manifest love in our actions toward one another. The Christian community is the sacrament of Christ, who, in turn, is the sacrament of the Father, making the Father present among us through the embodiment of agape (selfless and total) love. As the Body of Christ, we are the sacrament of Christ.
The Kingdom of God is a fundamental transformation of humanity into the community that God created us to be in the beginning. The Kingdom of God is not the work of any individual, though Christ embodies the Kingdom and makes it present. It is the work of the Father, who ultimately brings it about. We can be part of the divine process through the individual choices we make to be loving or not, but we are not the ones who will make the Kingdom present in the world.
One of the core values of the Diocesan Pastoral Plan is teamwork. At a surface level, it challenges us to work together toward our common goals. However, on reflection, the core value challenges us to a much deeper understanding. The challenge is not just to work together but to keep our way of viewing the world in resonance with God.
Team work reminds us that we are not alone and that our choices and actions have a big impact on many other people. We can’t think simply in terms of the individual but must always keep our priorities aligned with the common good. What seems to be good for me may be harmful to the common good.
A few decades ago reef fish were plentiful around Saipan. Some people found it easiest to harvest the reef fish with dynamite and Clorox. It would stun them or kill the fish and all these fishermen had to do was gather the floating bodies. It makes for a large harvest with little work. It seemed to be a very good deal for the individuals involved. However, several decades later Saipan is almost devoid of reef fish. Why? The dynamite and Clorox destroyed the habitat of the reef fish. The entire community was harmed because of their self-centered and thoughtless actions. What seemed beneficial to the individual in this case was a gross violation of the common good.
Teamwork also requires that you work with the people on your team toward common goals. Sometimes the only thing you have in common with the other members of your team is simply that you are both on the same team. I was watching the Saints-Vikings game the other day as part of the NFL playoffs. The Saints were leading the game with a score of 24 to 23 for the Vikings. They were down to the last few seconds of the game and there was time for only one or two more plays. The Vikings had control of the ball. Case Keenum, the quarterback made a desperate, deep pass to the end zone where Stefon Diggs caught the ball with one hand while trying to keep the Saint’s defender away. It was an incredibly improbable catch that required an impressive degree of skill and teamwork from the Vikings. While I was rooting for the Saints in that game, I admired the quality of the teamwork that won the game for the Vikings. Keenum and Diggs have little in common, except that they both play for the Vikings. They are on the same team and when working for their team nothing else matters except that they are team mates.
Over the years I have seen parishes split apart because disagreements between different families in the parish have spilled over into the life of the parish. The common good of the parish has been sacrificed to further the influence of one family over another in the parish. If the conflict isn’t between families, then it is between ethnic groups. Differences, what ever they happen to be, loom larger in the minds of the parishioners than their common identity as followers of Christ and members of the parish. This failure of teamwork poisons all the efforts of the pastor and parishioners and gives scandal rather than witness to Christ. Teamwork isn’t about denying differences among the team members but is about acknowledging the differences, understanding the differences and still working together as team members.
None of the goals of the pastoral plan will be achieved, if we are not able to work together. Our witness will be one of hypocrisy, if we are not able to work together with one another, giving witness to the power of Christian love to overcome differences. If we can learn to work together for the common good, then any pastoral goals can be achieved. Indeed, we can be a shining light of cooperation and teamwork for our community and for the nation, a light that is sorely needed in these contentious times.