Becoming Neighbors: The Common Good Made Local (Amar D. Peterman) - A Review
According to Scripture, we are
called to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. According to Jesus, it is
one of the two great commandments, the other being the command to love God. He
drew that commandment from the book of Leviticus (Lev. 19:18). So, what does it
mean to be a neighbor whom we are to love? What might loving that neighbor involve?
When Jesus was confronted with this question, he offered a parable that spoke
of the Samaritan who stopped to care for the man who had been left for dead in
a ditch when two religious leaders passed him by. It seems that being a good
neighbor involves something more than waving and saying hello. In fact, the
identity of the neighbor likely needs to be expanded beyond those who live
close by. It is worth noting that in that same Leviticus passage, the people
are told to love the alien who resided among them because they had been aliens
in Egypt (Lev. 19:33-34). Nevertheless, a good place to start might involve caring
for one's neighbor who is close by as we pursue the common good.
When it comes to being a neighbor,
Amar D. Peterman offers us a word of guidance in his book Becoming
Neighbors: The Common Good Made Local. Peterman is the former assistant
director of civic networks at Interfaith America and currently leads a program
known as "Scholarship for Religion and Society.” He holds an MDiv from
Princeton Seminary and is a PhD student at the University of Chicago Divinity
School. This book is in many ways an expression of his work at Interfaith
America.
Becoming Neighbors might be
brief in pages, but it is deep in purpose. That is because Peterman writes at a
time when we are witnessing a backlash against the kind of efforts that bring
people together to pursue the common good. Consider the anti-DEI efforts
underway that seem focused on protecting White hegemony, government efforts at
mass deportation, along with people raising questions about what it means to be
a true American. The Vice President has suggested that being a true American
doesn’t involve holding to traditional American values, like those espoused in
the Declaration of Independence, but instead it’s about heritage (by that he
seems to mean European/Christian ancestry). If this is true, then everyone else
who resides in the United States is a second-class citizen. Fortunately, this
is not the only possible perspective available to us. With that in mind, Amar
Peterson, who is himself of South Asian descent, offers us a very different
picture. To make his point about the nature of identity, he borrows the image
of the United States as a "potluck nation" from his former boss at
Interfaith America, Eboo Patel. In laying out what being a “potluck nation”
involves, Peterman focuses his attention on local expressions of neighborliness.
By doing this, he keeps the conversation from becoming too abstract.
In his introduction to Becoming
Neighbors, Peterman reminds us that pursuing the common good "is a
deeply local task." As such, he writes that "seeking the common good
through this local practice of neighbor love is messy and complicated
work" (p. 3). But, "our shared flourishing is impossible unless we
enter into a common life where we are formed by and toward one another."
In line with the image of the United States being a "potluck nation"
where we all bring our diverse dishes to the table, the idea of coming to the
table is a thread that Peterman weaves throughout the book. He comes to the
table as a committed Christian who recognizes that others come to the table
with different belief systems. However, when we come to the table on equal
terms, we put ourselves in a position to work together for the common good.
Appropriately, Peterman titles the
first chapter "Coming to the Table." He begins by describing the
table, noting that it is a "tangible and salient image of the common
good." That is because tables serve a variety of functions in the
community, ranging from a place to eat together to a place to stack books at
the local library. It also represents for us the practice of "intentional
hospitality." I appreciate the way he brings Jesus' table practices into
the conversation (see my book Eating with Jesus: Reflections on Divine Encounters at the Open Eucharistic Table). Unfortunately, as he points out,
Christians have often failed to live up to the table's potential. So, we have
work to do. That starts with desiring the table and wanting to be present at it.
From there, we can join together at the table, not by dominating but by sharing
with others in being formed by love of neighbor.
Having developed the image of the
table, Peterman leads us forward on this journey to the common good. In Chapter
2, titled "Joining God in the Neighborhood," he begins by acknowledging
his own fear about coming to the table with persons outside his faith community.
That is because he feared that in doing this, he might be leaving God behind.
What he discovered was that God was already at the table. What this means,
then, is that God is inviting us to come together at the table, bringing to it
our distinctive beliefs. To do this, we must start by acknowledging that God is
love, and because God is love, we are called to love God and one another. Not
only are we called to love others, but we are called to goodness. That is
because God is not only love but also good. When we speak in these terms, we’re
not speaking simply of an attribute of God but God's essence. We know this
because what God does is good. Joining the God who is love and goodness also
involves a call to being in community. As Christians, Peterman being in
community reflects the doctrine of the Trinity. Therefore, "as creatures
made in the image of God, humans reflect this desire to belong and be known by
others. We are made to exist in community" (p. 37). With that, we return
to the image of being part of the “potluck nation,” which is reflective of the diversity
present at the table.
Chapter 3 speaks of "The
Practices of Neighbor Love." This is, after all, a practical book that
focuses on living out neighbor love. So, this is an important chapter. The
practices Peterman emphasizes start with compassion, which he believes
(rightly) is revealed in the parable of the Good Samaritan. He notes three
implications of the parable. The first is that the parable reveals a calling to
radical compassion, such that we actually get involved in the lives of others
in need. Secondly, he suggests that neighbor love is fused with enemy love
(remember who the Samaritan is). Finally, we see that the command to love our
neighbor involves loving the stranger. These are difficult callings, but this
is our calling, nonetheless. He notes a second practice that emerges from
neighbor love, which is humility. Following this practice, Peterman speaks of
translation. This practice involves making "ideas and concepts
understandable across communities." Another practice that he speaks of is
"resonance," which involves making sure we are in tune with one
another as we gather at the table in pursuit of the common good. It might be a
bit of a surprise, but neighbor love also involves lamentation and finally
accompaniment. The good news is that as we accompany others on this journey, we
discover the presence of God.
In chapter 4, Peterman brings into
the conversation a new metaphor, which is a call to become "A Community of
Builders." He suggests we are called to be builders because God is a
builder. What he has in mind involves creating beautiful things. With this in
mind, He brings into the conversation the three offices of Jesus, that of
prophet, priest, and king. He develops each of these images for us, such that
we might emulate Jesus in our own lives. Having developed the three offices, he
turns to the idea of "buildings and builders." We are called to build
because God is a builder, starting with building community. This involves
faithful presence.
The final chapter simply reminds us
that "We Live as Neighbors" (Ch. 5). Here, Peterman introduces
another image, which involves becoming a gardener. He suggests that the glue
that holds us together involves having a "resurrected imagination.” Gardeners
have a resurrected imagination because they understand the reality of death and
resurrection, since plants "die" and then return to life under the
careful guidance of the gardener. Ultimately, to live with this resurrected
imagination is to "begin to live for the sake of others rather than for
our own gain. We are drawn to the table because God and our neighbor are there.
We give of ourselves for the good of the whole because this sacred perception
acknowledges that my flourishing is intimately bound to my neighbor’s
flourishing" (p. 86). There is much truth to this vision of living as
neighbors.
Amar Peterman’s Becoming Neighbors: The Common Good Made Local is a brief book. Although it is less
than one hundred pages in length, it is packed with images and ideas that can
assist us in pushing back against the anti-neighbor agenda that has been taking
hold of our communities. Rather than limiting access to the table, as some
suggest, Peterman argues that we need to welcome everyone to the table. As we
gather at the table, he emphasizes that this table is a potluck, so that we
should bring our own beliefs and identities, because in doing so, we can pursue
the common good.
Copies of Becoming Neighbors by Amar Peterman can be purchased at your favorite retailer, including my Amazon affiliate and my Bookshop.Org affiliate.
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