Ouch! When Clergy Drop the Ball

Arise; shine for the light of the Lord is upon us! I love the season of Epiphany. It is the season of renewal and hope, sparked by the healing radiance of God. The Epiphany begins with the long journey of the wise men. While our manger scenes often depict “these ‘three?’ kings of Orient Old” showing up at the stable, in reality it was much later when they arrived at the home of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus (behave yourself all of you Ricky Bobby fans! Jesus was the ‘baby Jesus’ long before the movie).

We find this beautiful story of the wise men and their westward journey early on in the Gospel of Matthew. While this is a beautiful passage and one that demonstrates to us the far reach of God’s endless light, there is also a subtle and often glossed over disturbance which subtly haunts this passage. It is not the obvious and sinister hatred of King Herod (a true narcissistic murderer and fiend); it is not his tricky and treacherous nature; nor is it the fact that the wise men went to Herod in the first place (after all, if a king is born what more logical place to go look for him than at the palace?). What bothers me most of all in this passage is the clergy - the religious leaders and authorities.

Herod discovered through the wise men’s visit that a King and Savior was born somewhere in his region. He discovered through the wise men that a Liberator and Great Councilor was somewhere out there amongst the people. He realized in his narrow, yet terribly cunning mind that any ‘King’ was a threat to his sovereign reign (even though in reality he was nothing more than a Roman puppet). So what does Herod do? Not only does he attempt to trick the wise men into leading him to the Christ child in order to kill him, but he summons the clergy as well. Herod was probably certain that these preists must know something through their daily contact with the people. And here is the rub - they all fearfully respond. Herod enlists their assistance in his wicked plan to murder Jesus, and they oblige. It is important to note that these are the same religious leaders who are reading the Scriptures and looking (awaiting and anticipating) the coming of the ‘Liberating Messiah.’ And even if Jesus is not the type of liberator that they seek, they didn’t know that at this particular moment in time; and they sell him out!

Perhaps the Clergy were enjoying the ‘good life’ at the expense of their own people? Who really knows, but the fact is they responded to Herod’s call out of fear for their own safety and security. Perhaps this is the reason that as the wise men arrived in Jerusalem, the star they were following mysteriously disappeared. They had lost their guiding light and beacon. We are told in Scripture that it was only after meeting with Herod that the star reappeared to the three kings. The star certainly never appeared to God’s own ordained leaders!

It is most unfortunate when God’s own shepherds betray their flock. It is bad enough when the clergy become consumed with the need for worldly power and greed, but it is horrific when they betray the people they are called to lead and protect into the hands of the wicked. What is so distressing is when (we) the clergy cast aside faith in God and bow to fear. Fear! Fear for personal safety; fear over the loss of a comfortable lifestyle; fear of change. As clergy, when we sell out to the world, we to lose our guiding light and holy beacon. The night becomes pitch black and we lose all sense of direction. That is an aweful and lonely place to exist.

While it is easy for us to judge the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, this is a most unfortunate pattern that has existed in the history of the church. All we have to do is look at the corruption of the clergy during the Middle Ages, or the blind eye turned by the church during World War II as Hitler attempted to execute a whole race of people. The Pope and much of the church didn’t dare make a stand against Hitler or draw attention to the awful atrocities he and his Nazi thugs were committing against the Jewish race. Out of pure fear they abandoned their faith and bowed to Hitler, betraying the trust of so many people who desperately looked to them for guidance.

The clergy in this passage did the same thing. They betrayed their beliefs and people out of fear. Their faith was nothing more than a false façade. They did absolutely nothing to intervene or take a faithful stand, even as Herod went on to slaughter all the baby boys of their people (the Holy Innocence).

When clergy drop the ball it has an awful and lingering affect on God’s people. After all, we are God’s ordained and trusted Shepherds. But despite the past, it is not our place to stand in judgement against the failures of others; for none of us are 'super-persons' or perfect without sin. We are after all only human beings who are sinners, and we all drop the ball on occasions. Thank goodness for God's redeeming grace! Therefore it is my most sincere prayer that in our day and age that corruption, power, greed nor fear will prevent us from perserving the faith and mission we are ordained to serve. It is the clergy’s mission to stand in love, holding accountable the corrupt governments of this world; to embrace our people (especially those who suffer) and stand firm in our faith - even if it means personal suffering and persecution. It is our responsibility to embrace our conviction to Christ, and become icons (living windows) to God’s liberating glory.

What would have happened if the Jewish clergy had stood up to Herod? What would have happened had the Catholic Church (as well as many other denominations) made a faithful stand against Hitler? Who knows; we certainly have no right to judge those folks, as that is solely up to God. But we can learn from the past, and as God’s modern day church do all we can to put faith before fear. I pray for myself as a member of the clergy, as I hope others do as well by saying, “Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner.”