By The Rev. Dr. Carl Grosse

The movie Conclave got a big boost from the death of Pope Francis (requiescat in pacem). If you haven’t seen the movie, the title tells you that it depicts how the sausage is made in electing a new pope from the time a pope dies. For many people, the 2-hour movie feels long. For people like me, conditioned by presbytery and committee meetings, the length and subject matter are no problem at all. I even tried to follow the Latin, which sounded so Italian I got confused (doesn’t take much).

Of course, the cardinals in particular lapse into good old-fashioned politicking. We see factions forming and vote canvassing, scandal and using the rite of confession for intelligence gathering. Heroes and villains say and do the things that make them heroes and villains, and I expect determining which is which might be in the eye of the beholder. All the action and dialogue happens with rich Roman Catholic clothing, architecture, ritual, language, and mannerisms. 

It’s not just a Roman Catholic thing. Anyone who’s been involved in church meetings at any level likely has sampled the sausage of church decision-making. From local church committee meetings to national conventions, any church group can and does develop factions, line up allies, and use the language and trappings of church to get an agenda item through. Fountain City Presbyterian Church is no exception. 

But where does Jesus fit? How does God play in the proceedings? In the movie, people say prayers and swear oaths, but you wonder what it means to them. Outsiders often view our use of creeds and prayers and religious claims as disingenuous given how we behave. I don’t think we’ll ever be free of church politics on this side of heaven. Are there ways we can make it less worldly? Does our prayer for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven have a politics exclusion?