Can we have it all?

It was an early hit (2014) for Adele - the lament that was also a threat: "We could have had it all". (Rolling in the Deep.) That's what the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and the Orthodox Jewish Community wants. And that's what a lot of "conservative Christians" want as well - to have it all.

I was the pastor of a local church and a volunteer at the community library. I had been asked to serve on the Board of Trustees for the library which consisted of one room. My election to the board was held at the Town Meeting, during which one of my parishioners stood up and challenged the legality of the proceeding. "With all due respect to Rev. Demers," both a verbal and a physical nod in my direction, "I believe his serving on the library board would be in violation of the separation of church and state." I, in turn, stood and withdrew my name from the running. But really - Violation of the separation of church and state - my serving on this library board?

In a recent piece in the New York Times, Linda Greenhouse writes of the decision by the Supreme Court - Justice Amy Coney Barrett's first - ruling against the State of New York's restrictions on worship attendance. Greenhouse notes that the state had eased the restrictions prior to the case getting to the Court. In other words the diocese had already "won"; but is it enough to win?

"There’s no neutral ground," she writes. "The Supreme Court has become a prize in a war over how far the country will go to privilege religious rights over other rights, including the right not to be discriminated against." 

Putting the needs of others ahead of one's privilege is central to the Christian message. It demands a willingness to sacrifice. It is a profound cognitive dissonance that Christians would be willing to go to court for the right to gather knowing full well that exercising such a right at this moment in history is to put all who gather and anyone they come into contact with in danger. The lack of political leadership at the federal level during this pandemic has been nothing short of criminal. But equally disturbing are the times when the state has taken higher moral ground and exhibited greater concern for neighbor than the Church.

The argument that the cavernous nature of our sanctuaries facilitates safe gathering misses the point. With just under 200,000 new cases reported on Dec. 2 and just under 3,000 deaths (a new record for the US), one would think faith communities who take their inspiration from Jesus of Nazareth would be imploring people to adhere to the guidelines to stay home rather than looking for ways to work around them. "We could have had it all ..." Yes indeed; and when it was all over, would we have gotten what we truly wanted?