Unwise to dismiss the ordinary

Below is the Thinking Anew column in today's Irish Times.

By Michael Commane
For the next six months garda outriders will be guiding sleek black cars through Dublin's junctions. To the annoyance of some motorists these cars will be ushered through red lights on their way to EU meetings in Dublin Castle and Government Buildings.

The elected governments of the 27 European Union states and their officials
will be meeting in Dublin between now and June as Ireland takes on the role of presidency of the EU.

Dublin is the city where the talking will take place. Here democratically elected representatives of 502 million people will barter, hassle, argue, discuss and plan for the future.

We can never ever underestimate the privilege it is to be able to discuss,
talk and share ideas in a free and open environment. In spite of all the current hardship and recession we should count our blessings and appreciate our freedom and democracy.

The reality that people can express their ideas and beliefs in freedom is very precious. We can share our ideas and opinions knowing that there will never be a knock on our doors in the middle of the night to take us away to the secret police. It might well be easy to take it for granted but that freedom is something for which people have fought hard.

It's a long time since I was introduced to theology and philosophy and sadly
much of it has now evaporated out of my system through the passing of time.
But somewhere in the deep crevices of my head I can still recall learning something about the sensus communis. From what I can recall, it is the idea that in a free and open society there is a commonsense among the general public, that most people know what's right to do and know how best to deal with situations as they arise.

It's never a good idea to dismiss that “commonsense” that prevails among the
general public. And because of that it is important that governments and ruling authorities have the wisdom and foresight to keep a keen eye on what the “ordinary people” are thinking. That applies to state and church.

Watching Christmas Mass on television from St Peter's basilica in Rome I was
struck by the power and glory of it all. Liturgical ritual can be most inspiring and it's often said that no one does it better than the Catholic Church. It might well be true. Indeed all liturgies can be most inspiring.

Public prayer done well can help us on our life-long journey to the discovery of God.

Tomorrow we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany of The Lord - the making
manifest of God to the world. No, God does not turn up at the doors of the
high-ranking priests and scribes to announce his arrival. Instead ordinary
wise men make the discovery of his presence in the world.

"When King Herod heard this he was perturbed, and so was the whole of
Jerusalem. He called together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, and enquired of them where the Christ was to be born." (Matthew 2: 3 - 4) And then later in a dream the wise men are told to avoid Herod and stay well away from him.

The Epiphany is the story of how God offers himself to all mankind.

Significantly he doesn't go along to any elite group. Instead he makes himself known to “ordinary people”. Surely that's a lesson for all people who are in positions of authority and influence. It might also be a hint to all of us never to underestimate the common good sense of the “ordinary
people”.

Might it be that the current economic crisis that rages world-wide is someway linked to a small self-appointed elite group believing that they 'knew best' and forgot to take account of the views and opinions of the “ordinary people”.

And is it possible to say the same in the domain of religion: ministers of religion pay far too little attention to the views and beliefs of ordinary good living, holy people? It's far too easy, almost a cliché, to say the “world” is all bad and “we” are right.

Of course in any healthy society there will always be tension between the various groups and factions. But tomorrow when we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany of The Lord surely it is important to ask why God was made manifest in such a way? God chose the “ordinary people” over the elites.

The comings and goings in Dublin Castle and Government Buildings for the next six months are very important. Hopefully the elites going through all those red traffic lights will make wise judgements, which will work for the better of all peoples. Also important is our public prayer in such places as St Peter's and Canterbury. We need our governments, our priests too, but
there can never be a break between our public prayer and the lives of the “ordinary people". The Epiphany insists we link the two together.