We, as Christians, are getting a lot of backlash for our choices recently. First, we inexplicably voted for a misogynistic, borderline racist, anti-Christ felon. We are supporting him no matter what, even when it comes to the death of Good. When Hawthorne used this term in naming his characters in "Young Goodman Brown," it was somewhat ironic. Is it ironic for us now because we don't believe in Good, or is it allegorical, and Good is more like Everyman? I guess I'm asking who is Good in this situation, maybe even who is Good in this civilization.
There are so many aspects of Renée Good's story to consider. She is a mother of three who was interfering with ICE in Minnesota when she was shot by an ICE agent. One side is that when you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes. "That's what you get!" Some, on the other hand, believe that the ICE agent murdered Good.
There are even more people who want to point out Good's faults, like she abused her children, which is not true. Still others want to broadcast how Good was blocking the arrest of an illegal immigrant who had sexually abused children. That is a terrible man, and he needs to be removed post haste from our streets. However, does Good deserve to die for any of this, even if it is or even if it were true?
For any of us who have children, we have to remember that our children watch everything we do. They take cues from us. When we are stopped for speeding with the kids in the backseat, they learn from us how to interact with the police. Hopefully, we are polite; we don't make any fast moves; we have our identification and paperwork at hand; we follow directives, and we are not already doing things that could make the situation worse, like carrying a body in the trunk.
My children no longer ride in the backseat of my car. They are rapidly about to exit their 30s, and they have their own children. I can't forget, however, that my children are still always watching what I do, learning what to do themselves or learning what not to do. It is important to note here that I have sons with opposing political leanings. One is all about social justice. The other leans a little right of this. His emphasis is on personal accountability. My problem is that they are both correct intellectually. It is their hearts that help them navigate the finer details. It is their hearts I love. Regardless of the political pendulum, they both have gigantic hearts, and they love righteousness. That is what I want people to be able to say about me, especially my sons.
In this situation, they both fell on the side of Good. Both of them hated to see Good die, and they believed that the ICE agent should be held accountable. Initially, this was not where I fell. I didn't want Good to die, but I thought her actions could not be taken for granted. I have always been blessed that my boys put credence in what I say, and I want this to continue. As a Christian, it is important to me that they do not associate my values with the values of the Christians that do not jive with the teachings of Jesus Christ. After all, I want my sons to have a relationship with God. How can I love God and justify the killing of Good? How can I expect my sons to love a God if this is really who his people are? While God is not His people, this can be very confusing to those who are watching. I don't want my sons to wonder how God could be in favor of the killing of Good or in favor of the justification of the killing of Good. That is what I was doing.
Fellow Christians, we are nearing the end, and we are losing sight of what is Good. My husband had a stroke on Good Friday. There's that word again. It felt ironic that day, as well. The Bible says that in the end people will call Good bad and bad good. We won't be able to tell the difference. I was all caught up in a lot of Trump's agenda until the stroke. I was catatonically sitting in the hospital, and the TV was on in the background. The station was Fox News. I wasn't focused on it at all. It was just background noise. Suddenly, the words started to form a semblance of meaning, and it sounded like the anchor was speaking about roaches. I focused in and realized that they were talking about, instead, illegal immigrants, not roaches at all but human beings, people's parents, grandparents, children, nieces and nephews, fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, people who just wanted a better life for themselves and their families. Isn't that what we all strive for? Where was the compassion? Where was my compassion? How could I have condoned any part of this?
I am not by any stretch of the imagination claiming that The United States does not have an immigration problem. We definitely do. Now the problem is different, but it is no less a problem. How can we as Christians prefer to see Good die to helping the stranger? That is what Christ teaches. He also teaches to give unto Rome what is Rome's, or obey the law. How do all of these teachings coexist? Helping the stranger while obeying the law becomes difficult in times like these. How do we choose which of Christ's teachings to follow if they conflict? I say the only thing we can do is always fall on the side of Good.
I remember my children's grandfather told me a story once. He said there was a Catholic priest in Nazi Germany. Everyone was supposed to turn over any Jews to the Gestapo. One day, a young Jewish family, who was on the run from the rapidly approaching Gestapo, knocked at the priest's door seeking refuge. Now, the priest faced our dilemma: do I obey the law and call out to the Gestapo, or do I have mercy upon this family and give them refuge? The priest took the side of Good. Help the stranger.
Killing Good leads to the Gestapo. I'm not saying Trump is Hitler. That is an insult to those who actually had to deal with him and his Holocaust. What I am saying is that I want to be able to face my sons and my grandchildren. I want to be proud of what I have modeled for them and the world I left for them. I want them to remember, if nothing else, that I had compassion. That is what so many are missing today in justifying the death of Good. Most of all, I want to represent Christ. I want to mourn all death because all death comes from sin. We have to have Good. As Good as we all strive to be, we will not always hit the mark, but we can't just kill Good because it sometimes misses the mark. That is not the typical sentence for making an error in judgment.
We are supposed to be in favor of Good, in favor of righteousness. None of the little intricacies of this case should change how we feel about the survival of Good.
I'm reminded of the first thing Jewish children are taught to recite: the sh'mah. It is posted on the doors of Jewish households as reminder of its importance and to put it into practice. It comes from Deuteronomy 6:4-9. I focus on verse 5: Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." When asked what is the most important commandment, Jesus references this verse in Deuteronomy and combines it with Leviticus 19:18, "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Mark 12: 29-31).
Think if we all really loved Good as much as we love ourselves. Would the compassion we show be different? Maybe you think you wouldn't have done what she did. I am a sinner. I mess up every single day. I have done things, in fact, that could have resulted in the deaths of others even, had things turned out a different way. I am not Good. I don't know her experiences or what has fed into the neural pathways and reward center of her brain that would have led to the risks she took that day. All I know for certain is that the death of Good hurts us all, and it is dying little by little every single day.
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