Lord and Serfs

The PCUSA fundies have their panties in a wad regarding the St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church of Austin, Texas. St. Andrew's is a progressive congregation that encourages its members to think rather than simply to regurgitate. Specifically, they think about language. What language do we use to speak about God or Jesus? Is the language that we have inherited helpful in pointing to Mystery or has it become a hindrance?



Here is the issue. The earliest confession for Christians is Jesus is kurios which is the Greek word that is rendered in English as lord. The folks at St. Andrew's question the exclusivity of using the word "lord" to describe Jesus. The fundies think that you must mouth "Jesus is Lord" or you are not a Christian. They are willing to take you to church court over it.

There will be a symposium at Austin Seminary to discuss this. I think it is a great idea. Discussion about theology and language is a good thing. To get the discussion on the table, you need to speak out. I applaud St. Andrew's and its pastor, Jim Rigby, for doing just that.

What is the problem with "Jesus is Lord?" I am not speaking for Jim Rigby or the St. Andrew's church. This is my way of stating it. I will say right away that given its limitations it is a valuable metaphor in certain contexts. In a post entitled, "Jesus is Lord!" I contrasted the lordship of Jesus over against the various incarnations of the lordship of Caesar in our time. It can be a metaphor to orient the values of Jesus over against the values of Caesar. I personally think that this is what the gospel writers were getting at when they wrote their narratives about Jesus.

The problem for English speakers is that the word "lord" has medieval overtones. Here is a helpful definition from Wikipedia:

A Lord (Laird in Scottish contexts) is a male who has power and authority. It can have different meanings depending on the context of use. In Scotland the word 'Laird' means owner of a landed estate, or more simply 'landowner'. The Scots "Laird" title is generally easier to achieve, but is as valued as that of an English "Lord". Many ladies will take the title 'Lady' instead of Laird or Lord. In a religious concept, The Lord is a name referring to God, mainly by the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Islam, and Christianity). The etymology of the English word lord goes back to Old English hlaf-weard (loaf-guardian) – reflecting the Germanic tribal custom of a superior providing food for his followers. The female equivalent, Lady, may come from words meaning "loaf-kneader."

Lord is not a word that we use anymore except religiously. It comes from the medieval feudal system. A lord was a landowner. We might as well say that Jesus is our "loaf-guardian." To use lord as a metaphor for Jesus emphasizes power, authority, and maleness. Our relationship to Jesus is then one of serfs to lord.

Some people are perfectly fine with that I suppose. If you are fine with it, great! I would not advocate banning the metaphor. I question its use as the only or the guiding metaphor for our relationship with Jesus. Not that I question someone else using it as his or her only or guiding metaphor. The question is this: must everyone use it as the guiding metaphor? The answer to that is "no."

The St. Andrew church is saying that this metaphor has problems for many people. The metaphors we use for the Divine or for Divine figures such as Jesus betray how we view our relationships with one another. Are our relationships primarily "power over" or "power with?"

When I think of Jesus in the gospels, I think of him as giving power to his friends rather than keeping them subservient to him. Other metaphors such as friend, guide, or teacher might be more appropriate. Not to proof-text, but the Gospel of John has Jesus say this to his disciples:

"No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you." (John 15:15)

At one point, Jesus scolds his disciples for power-grabbing. He says:

"You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all." (Mark 10:42-44)

Even though I am a clergyperson, I have a real problem with much of institutional or organized religion. It has to do with power. Rather than allow people to explore, we tell them what to think. We reward obedience rather than thoughtfulness. "Recite these words or you are not in the club!" "Believe this or you are not a Christian!" "Say it this way and do it this way or you are in error and are going to hell!"

I suppose that some people like to be told what to think, what to say, and what to do. For them, I am pleased that there are certainly a lot of churches that will tell them what to think, say and do.

But thankfully, there are churches like St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Austin and there are churches all over this country, that provide safe communities to grow, to think, and to make their own decisions--a place where people are free adults not serfs.

Thanks, Jim and St. Andrew's. Keep up the good work!