Someone, responding to me on the internet forum, used an interesting metaphor for the church-- a boat. We come across several metaphors of the church in the Bible such as the body of Christ (Eph. 5:22-33), the bride of Christ (2 Cor. 11:2), the temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16-17), the royal priesthood of God (1 Pet. 2:9), the family of God (Eph. 2:14-19), vineyard of God (Jn. 15:1-7), sheepfold of God (Jn. 10:1-18), and army of God (Eph 6:10-17).
The metaphor of a boat is useful to think of the church as a dynamic community of people moving toward a specific goal. However, an over-extension of this metaphor might not be desirable. Let me explain why.
A boat is a vehicle that people use for transportation. It is debatable if church is such a vehicle. If the church is “ecclesia,” a group of people, can it be seen as a vehicle that people get into?
A vehicle of transportation (boat/ship/airplane/ train) has two kinds of people in it – the crew and the passengers. Is it possible to say that the clergy are the crew and the lay people are the passengers? Passengers are those who travel from one destination to another destination, but the crew always stays with the vehicle assisting the passengers to reach their destinations. The crew is responsible for running the vehicle, and the passengers have to pay for the service. Is this true about the clergy and the laity? Can we say that only the laity are the travelers? This metaphor seems to imply that the Captain and crew have already been saved and are merely seeking to transport the laity to that promised land (salvation).
A vehicle of transportation (boat/ship/airplane/ train) has two kinds of people in it – the crew and the passengers. Is it possible to say that the clergy are the crew and the lay people are the passengers? Passengers are those who travel from one destination to another destination, but the crew always stays with the vehicle assisting the passengers to reach their destinations. The crew is responsible for running the vehicle, and the passengers have to pay for the service. Is this true about the clergy and the laity? Can we say that only the laity are the travelers? This metaphor seems to imply that the Captain and crew have already been saved and are merely seeking to transport the laity to that promised land (salvation).
If our life is a travel toward God or heaven (the Christian destination), both the laity and the clergy are fellow-travelers. Church has often been compared to the old Israelites who traversed the desert on their way toward the land of Canaan. This world might be compared to a desert, and we may see the church as such a big group of travelers moving toward our goal of the heavenly Canaan. In this metaphor, no vehicle is involved, and there is not any crew-passenger distinction. All are travelers.
Moses and Aaron were the leaders and role models for the people. They also wanted to get to their destination as much as the people did. Let us call this the “New Israel metaphor” of the church.
What we need today is a change of metaphor. From the boat metaphor we need to shift to the New Israel metaphor. In the boat metaphor, the clergy are the crew, and there is a compartmentalization between clergy and laity. Also there is an implication that the clergy have already been saved and are merely seeking to transport the laity to the promised land. But in the New Israel metaphor, there is no compartmentalization because both clergy and laity are travelers. Like Moses and Aaron, they are leaders and role models.
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