Journey to the Common Good: Updated Edition (Walter Brueggemann) -- Review
JOURNEY TO THE COMMON GOOD. Updated Edition. By
Walter Brueggemann, Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2021. Xxiv +
119 pages.
The
first edition of Walter Brueggemann’s book Journey to the Common Good
came out just as the nation was emerging from the economic crisis of the late
2000s. At the time Barack Obama was early in his first term as President. This
updated edition comes as the nation reels from a combination of crises that
includes a deadly coronavirus pandemic, racial unrest, the economic downturn
related to the coronavirus, and the disruptive nature of the end of Donald
Trump’s presidency. Brueggemann always has something wise to say, even though
it is often challenging. Having an updated edition that draws our attention to
his message of the common good is a good thing!
The
core chapters of this updated edition are essentially the same as what one can
find in the first edition. What this updated version offers is Brueggemann’s “A Reintroduction.” Brueggemann, who is the
William Marcellus McPheeters Professor Emeritus of Old Testament at Columbia
Theological Seminary, tells us that he wrote this reintroduction on the day of
George Floyd’s funeral in Houston. He writes that the crisis at hand “is deep,
thick, and complex.” It has three faces: 1) the virus that “outflanked our
scientific capacity; 2) the economic downturn; 3) “a skewed criminal justice system
for which police misconduct is the visible front” (p. ix). These three crises
have significant implications for us. First, regarding the virus, it has left
us vulnerable to unforeseen dangers. Secondly, the economic downturn has left
“many people in deep dislocation. Finally, “the crisis in criminal justice
evokes anger and fear” (p. x). These social realities—vulnerability,
dislocation, anger, and fear—are all present in the wilderness tradition that
he had explored in the first edition of the book.
Since
the chapters of the book remain essentially unchanged, Brueggemann uses the
“reintroduction” to situate the message of the wilderness tradition encountered
in the remainder of the book to the current situation. Thus, he invites us to
explore the message found in Exodus, Jeremiah, and Isaiah. He hopes that these
explorations will assist us in navigating our current situation, even as they
gave guidance in earlier crises.
The
good news that Brueggemann wants us to hear is that the biblical narratives and
oracles offer words of hope and guidance for our times of crisis because they
emerged in times of crisis. Indeed, he writes that “we face a crisis about the
common good because there are powerful forces at work among us to resist the
common good, to violate community solidarity, and to deny a common destiny” (p.
1). At our mature best, we might be able to transcend these challenges, but the
question is: Can a church that is deeply ingrained in the contemporary culture break
free from the constraints to offer a different word to the world?
Brueggemann
begins the core of the book with a discussion of the Exodus story, which
pictures Pharaoh as the “paradigmatic enemy of the common good.” We learn here
that Pharaoh’s grip on society is rooted in a principle of scarcity. Pharaoh
stood at the head of the world’s breadbasket, and thus its superpower. By
creating a situation of scarcity, Pharaoh could produce anxiety, which in turn
fed his power. In our day the “kingdom of paucity” is kept alive by our
consumerism, which pushes us further into the grip of scarcity and anxiety, and
thus puts us at the mercy of those in power. God breaks this monopoly of power
by calling the Hebrews into the wilderness, where they can learn a different
principle – that of the neighborhood and the common good. To break free of
Pharaoh’s reach, one must trust in God’s abundance, as seen in the manna and
the Eucharist. Unfortunately, at both tables, scarcity makes itself felt
through exclusion.
To
experience this common good, we must embrace a subversive alternative social
ethic, one that is focused on care for the alien, orphan, and widow. This triad
is comprised of those lacking access to the commodities of life because access
is defined by Pharaoh’s categories. He writes that “the tradition of
Deuteronomy intends to resituate the economy of Israel into the fabric of the
neighborhood” (p. 41). That is, the new paradigm subverts the status quo by
embracing a love of neighbor that carries specific economic implications. While
God would have our economies serve the common good, there are points of
resistance, counter-narratives that reinforce the principle of scarcity. The
Pharaonic ideal reappears with Solomon, who focused on a triad of wealth,
power, and wisdom.
It is
to such a world that Jeremiah speaks, offering an alternative vision that is
rooted in Deuteronomy. As a descendant of the exiled priest Abiathar, Jeremiah
speaks of a trajectory of death that is rooted in a commitment to Solomon’s
triad of wealth, power, and wisdom, offering in its stead an alternative vision
rooted in YHWH’s triad of steadfast love, justice, and righteousness. It is in
these that God takes delight, not the Temple worship that defined the Solomonic
vision.
From
subversion, the story moves to reconstruction, a vision witnessed to in the
texts of Isaiah. In this set of oracles written over several centuries, the
word from God moves from harshness to tenderness – there is both judgment and
hope for Jerusalem. Words of loss and grief give way to words of restoration,
with Cyrus serving as the agent of God’s work. In extending the oracle to our
own day, Brueggemann suggests to a world facing economic collapse that we
cannot simply return to normalcy. In the words of Third Isaiah (chapters
56-66), we find our way forward into a new age, one that is broad, inclusive,
and welcoming. In this new reality, true worship of God is defined by justice
and freedom, especially for the poor, the hungry, and the marginalized, and in
this vision, knowledge of God is found in the love of neighbor.
While
this edition offers a reintroduction, Brueggemann removed the afterword that
was part of the first edition. The afterword spoke to the world he encountered
at the beginning of the Obama administration. In the afterword, he spoke of his
hope that America was entering a new day. Obviously, the optimism that was
present in the afterword has given way to deeper division. So, that he has had
to write a new introduction to the book serves as a reminder that we have yet
to move beyond the Pharaonic dimensions of American exceptionalism. Thus, there
is still work to be done.
While Brueggemann’s
Journey to the Common Good is a rather brief book, its message is
powerful. It reminds us that the Bible might be an ancient book, but it still
speaks to the concerns of our day. It challenges the status quo and invites the
church to embrace its calling to be guardians of the common good. For
Christians, this book is especially helpful because it invites us to embrace
the narratives and oracles found in the Old Testament—not without critical
judgment, for there is more than one voice present in the text. But, having
said that, there is, Journey to the Common Good serves as a powerful
call to embrace God’s steadfast love, justice, and righteousness, which pushes
us to embrace the common good. That call will, however, require much of us.
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