By Rev. Joe Zarro, Interim Senior Minister
Like a lot of pastors right now, especially in the UCC, I struggle with how “political” prayers and preaching should be these days. We are trying to balance sanctuary and rest with civic engagement and social justice. It also feels absurd to ignore, or be silent about, the new levels of corruption, degeneracy and violence in our current American leadership. But while this milieu of social media, religious nationalism, and “post-truth” confusion is indeed new, the question of politics and religion is as old as the church.
Christians have long struggled with how to engage with politics and the wider world. Early Christians, a persecuted minority, initially refused military service, debated paying taxes, and refused to participate in state rituals because of pagan idols and prayers. Despite being compassionate, kind and helpful neighbors, they were accused of being unpatriotic and rabble rousers.
Early church fathers and mothers sought out the deserts and other wild places for solitude and purity, far away from cities and government buildings. Others sought the cities, and organized communities of mutual aid and sacrificial service. Healthcare, food distribution and religious education were (and still are) a big part of their ministries. They cared for the widows and orphans, the mentally unwell, and even those who got the plague!
After Constantine, most Christians became entwined with the very empire that crucified Jesus. This wasn’t all bad – it greatly expanded their ministries of care and compassion, and made Rome a less violent and brutal place (but still a brutal slave empire). It came at the cost of hierarchy, dogma, and corruption, and now the greatest persecutors of certain Christians were other Christians. Reformers pushed against the power and wealth of the priests, and the control of the papacy, which birthed our egalitarian and democratic congregational tradition.
But we weren’t done with “politics.” To the founders of BCCUCC, the question of how engaged the church should be in civic life was settled – we were the official religion of the town and received tax revenue to pay the clergy! We expected some measure of control in lawmaking and matters of morality, not as one church of many, but as the prime church.
Diversity and pluralism, especially the large influx of Catholics before WWII led us to be one church of many, and unseated us as the official “town church.” But we thrived and many see the postwar boom as the “glory days” of BCCUCC. In this era, the church was supposed to be bipartisan and “neutral” – but also patriotic and broadly acceptable to social consensus, even when that consensus was out of line with peace and justice. It was seen as “political” to preach an end to segregation or the war in Vietnam, and “feminist” to support women working outside the home and being allowed to file for divorce. The church of our ancestors would be bewildered by the silence and conformity of that era.
Many UCC Churches didn’t conform though – they chose the social gospel and a willingness to engage in these controversial issues, at times at great reputational cost. But even in the UCC, the vast majority of churches held on to the moderate, bipartisan, and patriotic norms. Even now, after early and public national stances on gay marriage, women pastors, peace and disarmament, and interfaith cooperation, our denomination remains deeply “purple” according to
polls. And there has been a backlash to the social gospel which led to the “apolitical” years of my childhood and young adulthood. The divisions and absurdities of modern politics is once again leading some churches to return to the social gospel, a dynamic present here at BCCUCC (even though my entire ministry has been steeped in the social gospel).
So I understand why some people want more “prophetic” and social justice-oriented sermons. I also understand people who want politically neutral sermons that stick to scripture and daily life – they hear enough about Trump, ICE, War and the religious right every day of the week. It’s not a sin to desire sanctuary, rest and inner peace on Sunday morning. Christianity has always been struggling with the related, but sometimes competing, needs of sanctuary and engagement, the pastoral and prophetic.
I’ve been trying to strike a balance for the last 15 years, but ever since January 6th it’s been harder to find a balance that is authentic without ruffling feathers and causing controversy. I do think there should be a sense of sanctuary and transcendence in worship. But what I think is impossible is “neutrality,” especially when Christianity is being used as a weapon and shield by people claiming to represent us. Silence is political, and the flag in our sanctuary reminds us that we live and serve in a particular place and time. We cannot escape the world around us – we can only navigate it the best we can, guided by Scripture, our tradition, reason and the Still Speaking Holy Spirit.
But let us take comfort in two things: 1) The church has 2,000 years of struggling with this very issue and has a deep well of experience, from marches to monasteries, and 2) We will get through this together, like our ancestors before us. This political moment isn’t forever. Maybe it will get better, maybe it will get worse, and please God, don’t let it get more absurd. But leaders come and go, opinions and controversies change – yet Christ endures, and so does his church. And people of faith and goodness will continue in the Way. Thanks be to God and Amen.