Church might find wealth in poverty

By Steve Gushee, Special to The Palm Beach Post

Friday, July 16, 2004

Many authentic religious beliefs are paradoxical. They appear to be contradictory but are spiritually sound.

That could make the bankruptcy of the Archdiocese of Portland,
Ore., a good thing. It is the first Roman Catholic diocese to seek
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The diocese is out of money because
of mounting claims of sexual abuse victims.

The paradox is that a financially broken church might just become a
powerhouse of God's spirit. Bankruptcy could nudge it into authentic

Christian life and force it to rely not on the world's resources but on
what the church claims is the inexhaustible merit of its savior.

That would be closer to the faith of Jesus than anything the Christian community has tried in centuries.

Most thoughtful Christians would insist that the example of Jesus
and the teaching of St. Paul, though often paradoxical, were profoundly
true. Jesus bore witness with his life that weakness was strength,
possibly the most alarming paradox imaginable and the core of his
teaching.

The source of Jesus' authority was precisely his abdication of power. He
was the quintessential suffering servant. That made him, for the
faithful, the most powerful force in heaven and earth. A saint, here or
there, embraced the idea, but it never caught on with the church.

Paul elaborated on Jesus' example. He wrote that the foolishness of
the cross was the wisdom of God, that service was freedom and poverty
riches.

Christianity has rarely embraced any of that theology. Almost invariably, most Christian communities have trusted the ways of the world and, when
possible, accumulated wealth, power, possessions and political
influence, rather than take a chance on the apparent contradiction of
its Lord's example.

Just possibly, bankruptcy might be the redemptive gift God forces
on the church in the aftermath of the sexual abuse scandal. Certainly,
few would choose it.

I made a modest proposal for the Episcopal diocese I served some
years ago. I suggested that clergy and church delegates meeting in an
annual convention vote to sell everything the diocese and its churches
owned -- buildings, schools, hospitals and trust funds. Give 80 percent
of the proceeds to the poor and, with the remainder, start anew.

If the church did that every 50 years, it would never stop growing,
I suggested. The witness of service, sacrifice and, most powerfully,
trust in the Gospel would make it the envy of the world.

I was laughed out of the room.

steve_gushee@pbpost.com