No Fathers or Mothers

Matthew 23:9 – “And call no one ‘father’ on earth, for you have one father, the one in heaven.”

If I was translating this, I’d say call no one father or mother on earth, because there is no reason to suppose that God has any particular gender. ‘He’ is no longer a pronoun for anyone on earth, so it shouldn’t be God’s pronoun. Or, at least her only pronoun.

What does this have to do with this verse? The verse suggests reorganizing our relationships with God, with our earthly parents, and with our fellow human beings. Jesus has a new vision for organizing church and society, one based on God as the parent, our source, and all of us as brothers and sisters of equal standing before them (another acceptable pronoun for God). Part of that is recognizing that men are not inherently superior to women. Recognizing that women are also made in God's image. Getting rid of that gender hierarchy in our mind.

What would happen if we stopped calling our pastors (men and women) by titles? Why are pastors called Reverend anyway? They are not more special than you or I in the eyes of God. They may know more theology than the average church-goer, but they’re no more important to the life of the church than that one member who comes to worship and doesn’t participate further. Presbyterians like to say we’re a priesthood of all believers, but we don’t always act like it. I know I go against Presbyterian policy when I say that I think the session should have ideas where they want their church to go and the pastor should be the one to get them there. Isn’t that what the discernment process with the interim pastor is all about? I think the Quakers get this right; they have no priesthood or clergy. Everyone can speak at their meetings.

I’m yammering on about this because I think focusing on such titles opens the door to creating hierarchies (in Greek: temple rulers) where none exist. In this passage, Jesus is speaking against such hierarchies of community. It is all too easy for us to compare our insides to others’ outsides and think we are worthless. It is all too easy for us to feel smug or complacent because we do more for the church or give more in the plate on Sunday. It is easy to look down on those who we don’t like when we begin to lift up those with whom we agree. This is not what Jesus wants for us. He wants us all to recognize our inherent worth as human beings. Not calling some people by special titles facilitates that kind of thinking.

As I write this, I think of women I follow on twitter talking about their doctorates and how they want people to call them ‘Dr.’ This might be where my theory needs a little tweaking. Women have to work much harder to be heard or even taken seriously. And that’s before we take their skin color into account; it’s worse for women of color. When we achieve something that men are practically given, we are going to want to use the title. It’s a matter of self-respect. I’ll probably do the same when I get mine. I’m not sure how to tweak my theory to take this into account yet. Stay tuned.

Jesus was talking about placing people on pedestals where they don’t belong. How does placing people on pedestals support the priesthood of all believers? How does elevating those who preach to the title of ‘Reverend’ support the priesthood of all believers. How does an MDiv (Master of Divinity! If that’s not overblown, what is?) make one person worth more than everyone else? It doesn’t. Especially when the knowledge gained in seminary stays in the minister’s head and never gets to the people in the pews.

I’m going to think about how I view my relationships to God, myself, and others today. Am I putting anyone on a pedestal? Am I putting myself on a pedestal? How can I reorient my mind to see my community as brothers and sisters rather than people in competition?