How Good and Pleasant

“How good and pleasant it is, when brethren live together in unity.” So begins one of the shortest psalms in the psalter. So many of the psalms call for vengeance on the psalmist’s enemies, or beg for God’s saving help. In contrast, this brief psalm celebrates the joys of unity within a family and ends with promises of blessing and “life for evermore.”

Today we said this psalm in response to our reading from the book of Acts. Remember that we are still celebrating Easter. Throughout Easter tide we hear of the impact of the resurrection on various people and communities. Our readings from the book of Acts in Easter tide give us a sense of how the earliest followers of Jesus experienced – or how tradition suggested they experienced – the power of the resurrection. The earliest followers of Jesus were a motley crew, to say the least. They included Galileans and Judeans, diaspora Jews of various backgrounds and political beliefs, gentiles, men and women, slaves and freeborn, even some Roman citizens. The Acts account tells us that, through the power of Jesus’ resurrection, these earliest communities were able to overcome their ethnic and social differences and generously share their resources with each other.

While we as followers of Jesus read Psalm 133 in response to the story of the earliest followers of the Way, the longing for unity among people is a recurring theme in the Hebrew Scriptures. We too can learn something from taking a closer look at this psalm. The psalm is a pilgrimage psalm, one of a group called “songs of ascent,” that include psalms 120 through 134. If you read them all together, you discover that they are all about making a pilgrimage “up to” the temple on the heights of Jerusalem. In this psalm, the psalmist uses two images of extravagant blessing to convey the delight and wonder of harmony among people. The first image is that of anointing, anointing so rich and abundant that the oil flows over Aaron’s head and through his long hair. Now as twenty first-century Americans, who live in a relatively moist climate, we don’t think much about anointing – unless you’re into massage. However, in the dry climate of ancient Israel, anointing with oil was both a necessity and a deep pleasure, especially for someone exposed to the dry heat and dust of a walk to Jerusalem. While anointing was especially associated with kings and priests, everyone in the ancient world could experience its pleasures and knew how necessary it was to life.

The second image of extravagant abundance is that of the dew of Hermon. Now Mt. Hermon is in the north of Israel, almost on the border with Lebanon, while Mt. Zion overlooks Jerusalem in the south. Here, the psalmist declares, the dew is so abundant that it can reach all the way from one mountain to the other. Again, as twenty first-century Americans, who have recently experienced too much natural moisture, we don’t think much about dew – unless perhaps you like to garden or mow the lawn in the morning. However, in ancient Israel, during the dry months of the year, dew was an important source of moisture. In fact, dew is praised in other places in the Hebrew Scriptures as a source of God’s blessings.

So the psalmist has used two extravagant images to remind us that harmony among people, wherever it is found, whether in extended families or in nations, is a wonderful blessing. Indeed, wherever harmony is found, it is life giving and – more important – God’s ultimate will for us. As Christians we claim that Jesus has reconciled human differences and given us, as members of his Body, a foretaste of what human harmony might look like. Indeed, we claim that, whenever we partake of the Eucharist, we are united not only with Christ, but also with each other.

However, as blessed as it is, actually living together in unity is hard work. We are all distinct individuals, and we live in a culture that not only emphasizes our distinctiveness but also often discourages cooperation and compromise. So how do we “live together in unity,” how do we acknowledge our diversity yet strive for unity? Is it beyond us? Spouses, partners, and family members must acknowledge each other’s talents and gaps and find ways to both support each other and receive support from each other. Actually, wherever people partner with each other, in schools, in hospitals, in offices, in parishes, we must seek common ground without snuffing out individual talents and skills. Our elected representatives must somehow put their partisan differences behind them and seek common ground on the issues facing our towns, states, and nations. Faith communities too, whether different Christian denominations or different religious communities, must acknowledge that no one has God in their pockets. They must find their shared ideals and goals without disparaging the practices or ideals of the other community.

All necessary and all very hard work. Years of talks led to the Good Friday accords in 1994 in Northern Ireland. Though the six counties have a functioning political process, much work still needs to be done to bring Protestants and Catholics together on the ground – in neighborhoods, schools, churches, and clubs. As we look at the Middle East, many of us long desperately for peace, as we try to be pro-Israeli, pro-Palestinian, and pro-Christian, all at the same time. At this very moment, we hold our breaths and wonder if fifty years of enmity between the U.S. and Cuba will finally come to an end. Will a nuclear treaty with Iran produce the desired assurances and security? We can only pray so.

Yet, sometimes the hard work of striving for unity and harmony among diverse people has actually borne fruit. In South Africa, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission initiated a process that helped undo the wounds of Apartheid and bring unity to one of the most ethnically divided countries in the world. Commission chair Archbishop Desmond Tutu acknowledged how difficult, yet how essential, the hard work of confession and forgiveness was for bringing in a unified future. He said, “To pursue the path of healing for our nation, we need to remember what we have endured. But we must not simply pass on the violence of that experience through the pursuit of punishment. We seek … restorative justice…. There is no point exacting vengeance now, knowing that it will be the cause for future vengeance by the offspring of those we punish.” Clearly, as we strive for unity, we must also look ahead to the consequences of our actions.

Closer to home is the work of Fr. Greg Boyle. A native of Los Angeles, Fr. Greg entered the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1972 and was ordained a priest in 1984. After teaching English for a few years, Fr. Greg was assigned to the parish of the Mission Dolores, a neighborhood in L.A. rife with gang warfare. At first, he believed that he could help broker peace among the gangs by bringing gang leaders together and helping to negotiate cease-fires among them. However, he gradually began to realize that what drew boys to gangs was that their prior life experiences had given them little reason to believe that they could change their lives for the better. Moreover, many had returned to the neighborhood after being incarcerated, finding that no legitimate business would hire them. Without abandoning his peace-making, Fr. Greg led efforts to establish an elementary school and daycare center in the neighborhood. Then he realized that what the gang members needed most of all were jobs. In 1992, as a response to the civil unrest in Los Angeles, Fr. Greg launched his first business, Homeboy Bakery. Its mission was to create an environment that provided training, work experience, and above all, the opportunity for rival gang members to work side by side. The success of the bakery laid the groundwork for additional businesses. Today Homeboy Industries’ nonprofit economic development enterprises include Homeboy Bakery, Homeboy Silkscreen, Homeboy/Homegirl Merchandise, and Homegirl Café.

Since 1992, thousands of young people have left their gang affiliations behind and experienced the mutual respect that comes from sharing tasks and challenges with others. As Homeboy Industries celebrates twenty-six years of work in downtown Los Angeles, the organization and its enterprises give hope to those seeking to leave gang life. Fr. Greg has received numerous awards for his work, while Homeboy Industries has been recognized as the largest and most successful gang intervention and re-entry program in the world.1

My friends, you and I may never travel to Northern Ireland or South Africa. We may not know any gang members or ever have the chance to help them remake their lives. However, we are followers of the One who, before his death, told his friends, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” We follow the One who, after being raised, instead of berating his followers for deserting him in his final hour, said, “Peace be with you.” We follow the One who then said, “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” We too are called to work for peace and unity in all areas of our lives. We too are called to bring to others the blessing that comes with unity, “life for evermore.”

1. Krista Tippett’s interview with Fr. Greg is a good place to learn more about him and his work. Find it at http://www.onbeing.org/program/father-greg-boyle-on-the-calling-of-delight/5053