Are we priests or prophets

It’s the age old balancing act of many ministry leaders. The question is this: what is the primary role of a minister? The answer will tell you a lot about the minister you’re speaking with. Some emphasize a priestly or pastoral role. The job of the minister is to care for the flock, to feed the sheep from the word, and to maintain the unity of the church. Others, while not denying that role, may emphasize the prophetic. We are to speak out against injustice, defend the defenseless, speak for the voiceless, and act in resistance against systems and governments that belittle or oppress others.

There are few who would deny that the minister’s calling involves both, but we often gravitate towards one or the other. Depending the situations we find ourselves in, we argue for on or the other.

“Now is no time for prophets…it’s a time to heal.”

“We cannot be priests now…we must call the oppressor out.”

I’m hearing a lot of both of those lately…

I wonder, though, if we’re looking at it all wrong. What if these aren’t two opposing callings? The normal way of looking at it is that you can either be a priest or you can be a prophet, and the minister’s duty is to know which one to be at which times.

As is so common in western thought, however, we’ve succumbed to a false dichotomy. Why can’t we be priestly prophets?

I think the one main hindrance to such a vision is who we consider to be part of our flock. This is where those of us in ministry who aren’t in local church contexts have an advantage. We have the luxury of realizing that God’s kingdom includes everyone. Rich and poor, immigrant and national, black and white, woman and man are all members of the flock. It doesn’t matter if they attend my church, are part of my denomination, or even practice the same faith as me. They’re all beloved children of God. Therefore, when a member of that flock is being oppressed, the priestly thing to do is to be a prophetic voice for their deliverance. To struggle against oppression is a pastoral/priestly function in so far as we are caring for the flock and struggling undo the marginalization that works to prevent unity. A congregation or society is never unified if certain members are excluded.

On the other hand, those who find themselves pastors in the local church are normally found in churches that are largely homogeneous. Despite the possible perception of diversity, many if not most of our US churches are comprised of people who look, think, act, dress, and speak alike. Most also share very similar socioeconomic standing, and even if there are differences in politics or theology, the same basic worldview is normally shared by all. Therefore, especially in the white church, to be prophetic seems abstract. You aren’t defending part of your flock. You’re defending that person over there. Becoming the prophet may even place you in the position of speaking against a subset of the church you pastor, causing tension and possibly division. That seems counter to the priestly calling.

Still, local church pastors have something to teach those of us who may ere towards the prophetic and find ourselves distanced from that local setting. The prophet should also be priest, even to those who are doing the injustice, even to those who sit idly by and say nothing about the injustice.

Ever notice that Jesus, while lambasting the scribes and Pharisees, still ate with them. That while he worked for the poor and oppressed, he still shared the table with tax collectors. Jesus seemed to be keenly aware that the calling was to be priestly and prophetic. It’s clear that Jesus sits squarely in the prophetic tradition, calling out oppressors and dreaming of a new world that could be attained if those in power would work for it. He also saw that the grace of God was wide enough to bring all people together in harmony, that the margins of the flock were wider than anyone else had imagined, to include oppressor and oppressed, rich and poor, strong and weak. All they have to do is enter.

This doesn’t mean the bite of the prophetic word is taken away. Jesus still wound up on a cross, with both the religious and political leaders playing their role in his death. But that death has inspired a movement that has proven itself able to transcend all religious, ethnic, racial, or gender-based divisions that we have set between ourselves. So may we too be willing to be priestly prophets, worried not only about the unity of our congregations, but about the unity of the Kingdom of God.