I don’t watch television much, but I keep up with a few shows. One of those is Brooklyn Nine-Nine. In the final shot of the latest episode I noticed something that immediately made me think of Common Ground by Julianna Zobrist from Shatterproof (2016).

In Casecation (s6 e12), Jake and Amy have a marital dispute. The final shot of the episode features them leaving in an elevator, as Jake says “common ground.” the elevator doors converge on a background image of someone wearing a cross..

I’m not saying it’s a clear reference to Common Ground, but I am saying that it’s odd this particular arrangement made it into the show, because nothing you see in television and cinema is by accident.

I see that look in your eye,
The one that says you know you’re right,
You know you’re right,
Because we’ve argued this a million times,
But never seeing eye to eye.

Is this a bridge worth dying on?
A hill to crucify upon,
Our bitterness will never save us,
We’ve gotta find some common ground…

‘Cause when all is said and done,
Doesn’t matter who has won,
When clarity is found,
He is,
The common ground.

We are the same here, you and me,
Standing underneath the tree,
And clarity is found,
He is,
The common ground.

We’ve got a husband and wife relationship and an argument, just like Jake and Amy. But then a search for common ground, and in a Christian marriage that comes from Christ, as both parties bow at the foot of the cross.

We were raised so differently,
And being mean is so easy,
It’s so easy,
But if we lay our guns aside,
We’ll finally start to realise,
We’ll realise…

We have no bridge worth dying on,
No accolade to stand upon,
Our righteousness will never save us,
We’ve gotta find some common ground…

By the great mercy of Christ,
He offered up a sacrifice,
And in His light, we are found,
He is the common ground.

Common Ground – Jullianna Zobrist