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The Pastor as Prophet
Peter Gomes | Posted March 28, 2008 10:22 AM
It may surprise many in white America that there are a lot of Jeremiah Wrights out there...To criticize America is not a sin, but it is a sin to mistake America for God, and it is both sin and dereliction of duty to fail to note the difference.
Rev. Peter J. Gomes is the Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in The Memorial Church at Harvard University.
When Barack Obama addressed the nation in his Philadelphia speech there was, as with a good sermon, enough in it to offend everyone. He reminded us of the flaw in our constitutional character, and hence of the fundamental flaw in our national identity. Politicians are meant to speak only of the flaws in their opponents, and when they venture away from that tried and true rhetoric they are likely to entertain trouble. In speaking to the twin toxic topics of race and religion in America, Mr. Obama was bound to cause offense; Emily Post was right when she banned those topics from polite conversation at the dinner table, and most politicians, unless otherwise compelled, tend to follow her advice in their campaigns. Presidential candidates run for office in order to run 'America the Beautiful,' forgetting that Katharine Lee Bates in her fourth verse asks God to "mend thine ev'ry flaw/Confirm thy soul in self-control/Thy liberty in law." She was a brave woman to suggest that in the American ideal, to which her poem was in elegant dedication, there were flaws to be mended; and although 'America the Beautiful' did not make the cut as our country's National Anthem, it should have.
It was in the spirit of 'America the Beautiful' that Mr. Obama spoke in Philadelphia, and his view of America was no less patriotic than was that of Katharine Lee Bates. Honesty is rare in public political discourse, not because it is in the nature of politicians to be untruthful but because they do not sufficiently trust the American people to believe in their capacity to handle the truth, especially when it is ambiguous and difficult. It is in this way that Obama and his Philadelphia speech stand apart from so much of our public talk. He took the considerable risk of trusting the American people to take his words seriously, to gaze into the tortured history of race in this country, and to move beyond the dividing bitterness of our time with a candor both hopeful and refreshing.
How easy and cowardly it would have been to disown the preaching of his former pastor. Those of us who preach are flattered to think that someone might believe we would have some influence on the thinking of anybody, let alone on a candidate for the highest office in the land, for most of us are tolerated, patronized, and ignored. Can anyone name the last presidential pastor whose sermonic influence affected policy in the White House? It may surprise many in white America, for whom Martin Luther King, Jr. is the only black preacher of whom they have ever heard, to learn that there are a lot of Jeremiah Wrights out there who week after week give expression to that classic definition of prophetic preaching that is to "comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." What would one expect of a black preacher whose Christian name is Jeremiah? The surprise is that there are not more Jeremiah Wrights who, from the view of their own pulpits, indict America for the failure to live into its own heroic vision of all people.
While I could not possibly agree with everything that Jeremiah Wright says, I do know that when a preacher, especially a black urban preacher, fails to speak truth to power and refuses to speak of what is wrong in the ardent hope of making it right, that preacher is, in Milton's words, a "blind mouth," and a repudiation of God's solemn call to him. Preachers, despite much evidence to the contrary, are not called to celebrate the status quo, even an American status quo, and when they do their job properly they call us all to a higher standard. Preachers are not perfect, nor are they the only people allowed to be credible critics of our time and place, but they are among the very few whose vocation it is to make us aspire to something other than the status quo. For too long we have made God an ally in the American way; the highest standards of preaching in America require that we should seek to be God's ally, helping God and one another to create a world in which we seek to live as God would have us live. To criticize America is not a sin, but it is a sin to mistake America for God, and it is both sin and dereliction of duty to fail to note the difference.
Perhaps few of us would be comfortable sitting weekly under the preaching of Jeremiah Wright, and certainly few enjoyed the exhortations of his namesake. Perhaps, if there is good to be found in this current tempest, it is that we can listen with edification to his young parishioner who has articulated a vision that goes beyond the politics of bitterness and revenge.
An honest and ongoing conversation about religion and race in America is long overdue, and too important to be left to the talk-show hosts and political spin-doctors. While it would be nice to put behind us the rancor and anxiety that surrounds Obama's so-called 'pastor problem,' I hope we can allow that genuine conversation to begin. Few other people in our public life are better poised to help us in this delicate but necessary discourse than Obama, and we all have much to learn from him and from each other. If out of all of this we become a people of thinking hearts and loving minds, seeking to appeal to the better angels of our nature, then this could be the best election season we have so far endured. If so, we will have Obama to thank for it.
(This article is reprinted with the permission of the author.)
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Brian Houston commented on The Pastor as Prophet:
Well said, sir.... -
Elder Kevin E. Taylor, Pastor - UFCNB commented on The Pastor as Prophet:
I continue to be floored and flustered by people's references to Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright and his se... -
Rev. Arrington commented on The Pastor as Prophet:
As A Rev. Jermiah Wight myself. I praise God for your ideology and wisdom in this issues. I think Re... -
John Garlington commented on The Pastor as Prophet:
Richard Williams: Your point being? We encounter many people within the context of our adulthood whe... -
Richard Williams commented on The Pastor as Prophet:
It is interesting to note, as soon the public became aware of the Obama/Wright connection, following...
March 28, 2008 11:44 AM
A thought on Obama and his pastor.
It seems everyone in this world has a right to choose what they expose themselves to. If we only choose to expose ourselves to what we believe in, would we ever evolve? I believe a wise man/woman must expose himself/herself to views he/she doesn't believe in in order to truly understand the world and form his/her own view. I believe that people who claim otherwise are not being honest with themselves. Great leaders cannot be great leaders unless they expose themselves to other points of view they don't agree with. Just because you're exposed to different points of views doesn't mean you're incapable of forming your own. The path to war is only exposing yourself to what you believe in. The path to peace is exposing yourself to what others believe. Bush is a great example of limited exposure.
March 28, 2008 12:01 PM
It is interesting to note, as soon the public became aware of the Obama/Wright connection, following a phone call to Mr. Wright from Mr. Obama, Mr. Wright was instantly silenced and retired. Is there something more we are not supposed to hear?
And after Mr. Wright was been silenced, the fact still remains that Mr. Wright has been Mr. Obama’s mentor and spiritual teacher for over 20 YEARS. And that up to recent negative press, Mr. Wright was on Mr. Obama’s Spiritual Advisor Committee campaign team. Mr. Obama cannot make excuses regarding this or deny it regardless how well his staff spins speeches for Mr. Obama.
And add to this Michelle Obama’s separatist-racist connection to Farrakhan and Chicago's Trinity United Church trumpeting Barack Obama AKA Barack Hussein Obama as the second coming of the messiah. And Michelle Obama’s statement she “has never been proud to be an AMERICAN in her adult life".
And for those who don’t know that Obama campaign was originally funded by the Food for Oil Program in Iraq, I suggest you read the following article:
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/03/obamas_iraqi_oil_for_food_conn.html
March 28, 2008 3:17 PM
Richard Williams: Your point being? We encounter many people within the context of our adulthood where one’s doesn’t know their involvement in illegal activities. Are we to be held responsible for their actions?
In many black churches, there is a lot of complicity concerning our pastors, including gays and lesbians who sit complicit while their pastors rant homophobic remarks. It’s a difficult realty for many professionals deciding to go to a popular church, where you have to take the good with the bad. However, my question to you Mr. Williams is have you listened to the full context of his sermon instead of the sound bites? Also, I have known very homophobic pastors with great insight.
Yet within the African American church community, oftentimes, we tend to overlook many negatives when there are so many positives concerning our pastors. I’m sure this was the case with Obama. Clearly, regardless of Wright’s position on most things he was prophetic voice for his community. At least, he wasn’t homophobic because he has been a stanch advocate for gays and lesbians.
March 29, 2008 11:29 AM
As A Rev. Jermiah Wight myself. I praise God for your ideology and wisdom in this issues. I think Rev. Gomes hit on the money and as a smae-sex loving open preacher the ism needed to hear and address. Rev. Gomes I pray to meet you face to face to give you a hug and say thank you. I thnak God for this wonderful paper that give us the power to share from our truth. I so hurt what the media and this nation as done, because they not ready to deal with a Man of Color. To use his God's and faith as a weapon is a shame. To use a great Man of God's as Rev. Wight is so low. I like what the writting of this paper say on CNN and you say it right too. I never seen Libreation Theology being say and use in the Media as now. You right how can you understand the Afrcian Amercian Church experince unless you are one of US.
April 2, 2008 7:53 PM
I continue to be floored and flustered by people's references to Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright and his sermons. It's such an ongoing light on the fact that many people haven't understood the fundamental need within many cultures and surely in the Black culture to hear a voice that speaks from where we are and doesn't concern itself with the mainstream.
What's so sad is how many people--Black, white, Democrat, Republican--clearly don't know much about Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King beyond his "I HAVE A DREAM" speech, which was NOT a sermon. He questioned America on the Vietnam War, on its treatment of its Black citizens and many of its workers. Dr. King would be vilified and dissected in so many ways in this current culture of pseudo-paparazzi exposure to tidbits and tainted perceptions that there would have probably been public cries for his assassinations from well-intended Christians who would have questioned both his credentials and his patriotism.
God forbid that all of these people who continue to rant and rave against Dr. Wright would actually read the Bible. Jesus, much beloved as The Prince of Peace, is always seem and served up on a platter as a quiet and meek messiah. But most people forget about the TURNING OVER THE TABLES IN THE CHURCH AND KICKING OUT TAX COLLECTORS...THE MAN WHO TOLD THE CROWD TO PUT DOWN THEIR STONES OR FACE THEIR OWN SINS HEAD ON...THE SAME SAVIOUR WHO TOLD THE WOMAN THAT DOGS WEREN'T WORTHY TO EAT FROM THE MASTER'S TABLE AND WHEN SHE SAID 'AREN'T WE WORTHY OF THE CRUMBS', HE CHANGED HIS MIND AND HIS MOUTH AND BLESSED HER ON THE SPOT!
WHERE ARE THE REFERENCES TO JESUS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE THAT DOESN'T EVER AGREE WITH THE MAINSTREAM, BUT THAT QUESTIONS AND PUSHES AND PRODS AND PROVOKES?!
I am personally proud to be from the school of Social Justice and while some of the words of Dr. Wright might fray some feathers, the truth is that Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright is speaking so closely to the Heart of Jesus than many of those who are so vehemently, and at times violently, oppose his very presence.
TO QUESTION IS TO BE CONCERNED and to question someone's patriotism based on the flag would be to question so many people who don't rock the flag in front of their homes...those who wear bikinis and tank tops of a flag that they say that they love so well...South Carolina still waving the Confederate flag...WHERE DOES IT END!? MANY ARE NOT AS AMERICAN, IN ITS TRUEST, MOST POWERFUL, MOST BRILLIANT SENSE, AS THEY PROFESS!
GOD IS GOOD AND EVEN THE BIBLE SAYS "STUDY TO SHOW YOURSELF APPROVED" and to study is to question and to query and to grow from the experiences!
Blesings Abound,
Elder Kevin E. Taylor
April 7, 2008 2:49 PM
Well said, sir.