Liturgies

What might we say if Malcolm or Bill or Richard were here today? In my dreams I imagine that – and before I say anything I say to them: “I trust that being here at St Mary's in Exile is nourishment for your spirit – after all, regardless of what the preacher says that is the bottom line!

Australia calls itself a Common Wealth. Nonetheless it is an interesting fact that only 2 other nations actually call themselves a “Common Wealth” - the other two are the Bahamas and Dominica.

Apparently the old English meaning of “wealth” is “well being”. Wikipedia defines “commonwealth” as a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Using this term in our constitution was a rather deliberate choice for our founding fathers to make – a nation whose wealth and resources were for all i.e. for all its white citizens. And we are still unravelling this unjust ambiguity. Another confusion is what one of our Big 4 banking institutions has done with the word. So, the contemporary challenge is to build Australia as a nation which aims for the well being of all, a common wealth.

The idea of the “Common Wealth” should not be dismissed as utopian though in real politik terms it may be regarded as an “impossible possibility”. Working towards such an impossible possibility is part of our tradition. (By “our” I mean progressives who come out of the Judaeo Christian tradition, though I know that most of what I have to say, both in principle and practice, is shared with many who don't acknowledge that tradition.....)

This “impossible possibility” of common wealth is a view that converges with humanism at its best. For us, Secular and Christian Ethics overlap considerably – the stories which inspire us may not always be the same but the common cause is clear.

Catholic social teaching introduced me years ago to the concept of “the common good”, a notion that contrasts with an emphasis on individualism in social policy. The “common good” is a concept which puts a particular twist on how we view “social justice”. Social Justice for us progressives is the ethical imperative where love and power meet. It is the application of loving our neighbour translated into the social and political realm. That is, in the market place, in the public arena justice is “love distributed”. This is exactly what Marcus Borg was getting at in the reading we heard earlier. Working for justice is much more than working for charity or social welfare. It involves working for social and cultural change, re-arranging the balance of power between the haves and the have-nots. This is why it is truly progressive.

Now where does this vision come from in our tradition? We can go back to the early church, indeed to its primitive first century origins. The Book of the Acts of the Apostles speaks of how the early Christians, the followers of the Way, “had all things IN COMMON”. Their practice of sharing matured to a practice which values all persons , indeed all life.

The Pagan Roman Emperor Julian declared: “It is the Christians' philanthropy toward strangers, the care they take of the graves of the dead, and the sanctity with which they conduct their lives (and regard others) that has done most to spread their message” (Jon Thompson web article “Christianity – the true humanism”)

But we should go back earlier to the records about Jesus of Nazareth, the prophetic sage who empowered the powerless and treated with dignity the outcasts of Galilee. As a Jew he was clearly drawing on the best of the prophetic tradition. That tradition reminded the priests and kings and people of Israel that they were to act justly and love tenderly in walking with their God. Indeed the prophet Jeremiah declared that knowing God required doing justice. Incidentally it was the prophets who enjoined Israel to think bigger than themselves, to think universally. Their God was the only One therefore their obligations extended beyond their borders to the stranger.

And we can go back further in this tradition to the ancient notion of “Jubilee”. Leviticus 25 v 8-13

The Jewish law taught that the year at the end of 7 cycles of 7 years was to be a year of redistribution and re -allocation. A 50 year economic plan! In effect all wealth was to be common loaned to families and individuals for 50 years. This process is congruent with environmental sustainability and stewardship, so the Psalmist affirms (PS 23) “The Earth is the Lord's” and it also converges with the indigenous world view that the LAND OWNS US.

I see Mr Di Natale nodding in agreement and the PM and Opposition Leader shaking their bowed heads. I grant this tradition is more than progressive – it is radical.

And we are obliged to ask, if that is where progressive Christian ideas of “common good” and “social justice” come from how may they be translated into matters that realistically matter in this election?

Time to wake up Malcolm and Bill. Fast Forward to Australia 2016:

I turned to my search engine and keyed in “Uniting Justice Australia” for ideas. This is the website of the national social justice division of the Uniting Church. Its guide to the election speaks of a “flourishing society” seeking the “well-being of all” which promotes “a richer life for all” not “ a life for the rich”.

The website nominates 16 issues. In effect addressing these 16 matters is a fair recipe for creating policy which takes seriously Australia as a Common Wealth.

#Constitutional Recognition

#An Inclusive society – ensuring opportunity for children and young people – leaving no one behind in the NDIS – access to quality aged care

#Climate Justice – Toward Zero Net Carbon – renewable energy

#Taxation reform – negative gearing and capital gains tax discounts – corporate tax dodging

#Online gambling

#Australia's humanitarian program (which presumably is code for refugee policy) – Australian Overseas aid – human trafficking

What is omitted you may ask? I would have given separate headings to a couple of matters hidden in the text, e.g. Marriage equality / Transparency (political donations). You might also ask how might these issues be prioritised? You might wonder whether questions are raised about budgetting for 12 new submarines and what that has to do with stopping terrorists. At least this program takes us way beyond the mantra of “jobs and growth” which by the way begs a query what kind of jobs and what kind of growth and for whom?

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This catalogue toward a flourishing society is challenging for our Commonwealth. Also, progressives do well to beware of self-righteousness when we criticise politicians. Sometimes we fail to recognise that Governing is a hard gig. It's worth a reminder of the John Carroll quote (the text at the beginning). Our integrity in offering a critique depends on our commitment to act. That commitment is part of the progressive creed .

In conclusion I want to add 4 short points to the progressive creed as we face this election in the so called Commonwealth of Australia:

Number One: Let us RECOGNISE the many INJUSTICES in Australia and globally in which we have great responsibility. Let us not hide them in political spin.

Two. In a Common Wealth there is a CASE FOR TAX INCREASES and we all must contribute.

Three. It's NOT THE ECONOMY STUPID – it's THE ENVIRONMENT. There is no human economy if we continue to be careless with the planet.

Four. Let's END “SHORT TERMISM” in our approach to politics. The ultimate social justice and common good test is an intergenerational one, one that looks to future generations of life on planet Earth..

In preparing this piece I once again recalled Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a twentieth century Christian martyr, a political prisoner whose fragmentary words have often been invoked by those who claim to be acting politically both as Christians and progressives. I offer you what his chief biographer claimed was the core of his ethics:

“The ultimate question for a responsible (person) to ask is not how to extricate himself heroically from the affair, but how the coming generation is to live. It is only from this question with its responsibility toward history, that fruitful solutions can come.”