The pastor’s job

His job, they say is to make us feel good’.

Is it, I ask, his job to make them feel good when their actions are bad?

Or is it his job to encourage them to do God’s will?  And does not God’s will cover every corner of our lives, from our secret thoughts to the way our society treats people, especially the poor and the most vulnerable? If the way our society treats people does not touch on politics, what does?

Is it the pastor’s job to make those in power feel good about being comfortable when other people are not comfortable?

If it is, then is it also his job to serve the powerful by teaching the poor and the oppressed to accept their position in society and their fate?  That sounds to me like the kind of religion that Comrade Lenin once described as a cheap kind of spiritual vodka’ which deadens their senses so that the oppressors don’t feel their guilt and the oppressed don’t resist their oppression.  Or is it his job to touch consciences, to inspire people to look towards a better world?  Now that is more like the role of the prophet. A wise man has described the prophet as one who comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable.

Another put it slightly differently: the prophet is one who weeps when everyone else is laughing and laughs when everyone else is weeping. In short, s/he points out the aspect of the situation which most people tend to ignore. Those who profit from a situation will probably want to ignore the inconvenient, negative’ facts. They need to be reminded. Those who suffer also need to be reminded of facts they tend to overlook, but in their case, when they feel particularly oppressed, they need reminding that there is a silver lining to the cloud, there is hope.

But, some will say, always taking one side shows bias.  The pastor should be neutral, so that he is acceptable to everyone. I ask you: in a world where great inequalities exist, is it possible to please everyone?  Did Jesus please everyone? Did he show bias?

Who did He try to comfort:

•    the poor?

•    the rich?                            

•    the oppressed?

•    the High Priest?

•    the gandanga crucified beside him?

•    the Roman governor?

•    the penitent tax collector?

•    the pharisees?

•    the woman condemned as a sinner?

•    the righteous?

True, a pastor should not worry whether he is popular, but no-one can remain neutral. We all lean to one side or the other. Which way should the pastor lean? Which way should a Christian lean? Which way did Jesus lean?