Christmas Day – “My father and I took a cab to the cathedral (Das Münster). It was packed….The archbishop presided and gave the homily. ‘Does the cathedral help or hinder us in understanding the mystery of Christmas?’ he asked. I was fascinated by the question, since I had just been thinking about the fact that such a hidden and poor event as the birth of Jesus had inspired the creation of such a majestic building and such a rich liturgy….The bishop defended his building, but…I realized that perhaps the cathedral is as much a product of human pride, arrogance, and desire for power, influence, and success as it is of deep faith, piety, adoration, generosity, and the love of God. The Freiburg Münster is one of the best places to see in stone the place where power and piety meet.”
Henri J. M. Nouwen, Sabbatical Journey: The Diary of His Final Year (New York: Crossroad, 1998), 72.
Ministers get certain privileges. You could argue that ministers used to get a lot more respect, but I would counter that some of those privileges are not worth having and may even be dangerous to the church and to the community’s spiritual life. For example, in some societies, the church and state are merged. History has proven that this is bad for both. Even when there is not an official merger, being too close is also dangerous for both.
A few years ago, I went on a mission trip to Spain. During some free time, I went to a small museum in Catalan. What stunned me was the display about World War II. Granted, Spain has a complicated history since the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) was a rehearsal for WWII. Many priests died for being faithful to their beliefs or for protesting political powers.
Still, in the museum were pictures of Catholic clergy giving the Nazi salute as they stood side-by-side military leaders. Although WWII ended in 1945, the ramifications of that partnership ripple 77 years later. The Nazis are gone. The Catholic church is still around – but is held in suspicion by most persons in Spain, especially in Catalan. Protestants are not seen in much better light and Baptists are seen as an off-brand cult. The official church supported Nazism. Piety and power met.
In our country, church and state as institutions are to remain separate. James Dunn, the famous church-state separatist, said, “Government often favors religion when it should leave it alone. Churches appeal for state assistance without counting the cost. When government meddles in religion it always has the touch of mud….The best thing government can do for religion is to leave it alone.”
There are crossovers, like Venn diagrams, that make that separation undefined, so there are court rulings to help us be certain that both stay in their respective corners.
Here’s an example of the “Venn diagram” of privilege. American clergy get a nice tax break. It would take another column to go into the specifics. (If you’re truly interested, here is a link to a downloadable 110-page clergy tax return preparation guide for 2021.) Suffice it to say that when I was making little money as a minister compared to others who had my same four years of college, four years of graduate school, a year of post-graduate work, and then six years of doctoral work, the tax break was something that was a very nice perk provided by Uncle Sam. It is designed to help level the paying field.
Some communities give ministers special privileges. In one county I served in, the cultural expectation was that a local church pastor would attend the visitation receivings and funerals of the family members of their congregational members. It was a small county, 10,000 people, many of whom were related to one another, so I attended a lot of funerals of persons I’d never met in churches I would not normally attend or in funeral homes where I soon came to know nearly every employee. The good news was that the funeral home directors knew to be on the lookout for ministers. Rather than have ministers wait at the back of a receiving line, the funeral directors escorted ministers to the front of the line. That way, we could greet the bereaved, then head home or speak with others. It gave us an option. I liked that privilege. The first several times, I felt guilty about crashing the line, but the locals expected it, so there was no “Hey, buddy, the line forms at the rear” heckling. I quickly got over my first apprehensions.
The line crashing is a privilege of convenience. The tax loophole is a privilege of respect (persons in the military get the same loophole) for those who are highly trained, willingly sacrificial, and who serve the broader community. The honor of standing next to the Führer, or the leader of any government, is a privilege rooted in compromise. To stand there, a minister must forfeit any credentials they have as a prophetic voice.
You can’t salute and point fingers at the same time.
Rick's Reflections 