“The Fragility of Goodness”

a sermon by the Rev. Dr. Hilary J. Barrett

Preached in the Chapel, Pleasantville United Church of Christ, August 14, 2011

Psalm 121; Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21- 23

“Then [Jesus] called the crowd again and said to them, ‘Listen to me, all of you,

and understand: ¹⁵there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile,
but the things that come out are what defile.’”
(Mark 7:14-15)^*

            The cover of this week’s, Time magazine announces: “The Decline and Fall of Europe.”  And, in much smaller letters below that disquieting title, the words: “(AND MAYBE THE WEST).”  As you might expect, the lead article proclaims “the end of Europe”: “its economic union…unraveling, London…ablaze, and…the U.S… too feeble to save [either] the day or the euro.”

            It would have been jarring to see London burning at any time.  But combine that with our own woes at home – with aimless young people marauding the streets of Philadelphia – and this week’s news seemed to spell the end of civility altogether.

            You may feel, as I often do, that listening to the news or picking up the newspaper is actually hazardous to your health.  Every day we are pummeled with stories of violence; tales of atrocity.  It’s so disturbing that every now and then I need to go on a news sabbatical; every now and then I simply have to take a break.  Because, what is so terrifying to me about these stories of human suffering and evil is that it is often very ordinary people who commit these crimes. The serial killers of the world are fairly rare.  What is more common, in fact, is the seemingly normal person who crosses the line. We are still more likely to be murdered by someone we know and trust than by a stranger.  Police officers are still more likely to be killed on the job responding to a domestic disturbance than they are responding to a bank robbery.

            What is it that causes some people to cross that line? Does something within them snap? Or is it, instead, a slow and gradual surrender to evil?  I am often stunned by the great discrepancies in human nature.  We have it within us to do great things – noble things.  We have it within us to lay down our lives for our friends.  And we have it within us to become the Destroyer of Worlds.  What kind of person is capable of such violence?  What kind of people could stray so far from the right path? 

            This morning I chose to focus upon a lesson from the gospels that, I think, addresses that question.  Jesus and his disciples are being challenged by the local authorities on their religious behavior.  They neglect to wash their hands in a ritual manner before eating which was a strict rule of religious observance.  According to religious custom, their failure to engage in this ritual action defiles the food they eat and thus, their very body.  But Jesus argues that it is not what goes into a person's body that defiles them, rather it is what comes out of a person's heart: “For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly.  All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

            What interests me about Jesus' argument is his list of the evils which dwell within us.  He makes no distinction between their severity: folly and envy are on a par with theft, adultery, and murder.  "All these evil things come from within [Jesus said], and they defile a person."  Jesus seems to be saying that there exists within the human heart a continuum of evil -- from the very mundane, like pride and folly, to the very serious like deceit and murder – and if we are not careful, that fragile thing which is human goodness can be destroyed.

            I’m going to say something today that I’ve said before – over and over again, in fact: what we do here matters.  What we do here -- as a community of faith -- to shape the moral character of our young people, matters.  And if you don’t think that what we do here is absolutely vital to our community and our world then you’re not watching enough TV or reading enough newspapers.

            After four days of fire and looting, senseless violence and base cruelty, there were signs of goodness regaining strength.  An impromptu “peace wall” grew up in London's Peckham neighborhood, where residents affected by the violence posted positive messages on a boarded up window calling for peace and tolerance.  And, instead of resorting to vigilantism, hundreds turned out with brooms in their hands to clean up the streets of their neighborhoods and restore some semblance of order. 

            Jesus knew that what we have within us is capable of defiling us.  It can strike like a bolt of lightning: suddenly and with disastrous consequences. Not to acknowledge that part of us is foolishness.  Not to guard against it is irresponsible

            The tender thing which is human goodness is fragile indeed.  The daily news and the events of our own lives bear this out.  Nurturing that goodness within ourselves and others is an act of faith.

            Psalm 1 reminds us that the task of shaping moral persons is not a solitary act.  Our characters are shaped in community.  We learn by watching one another.  We learn to be good by watching those who are good.

Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree
planted by streams of water,
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
for the LORD knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

            May we never forget how important it is to guard and protect the fragile goodness within us.  And may we never forget how important it is to shelter and shield the goodness in another.  For only then can that which is within us give glory to God. 

            May it be so.  Amen.