A St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity instructor defends (theologizes?) the practice of reserving front-row pews for the wealthy faithful at Mass...
Front-and-center seats for Christmas Eve mass at Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Church in St. Paul are on sale for about $1000. The money goes to fundraising for the parish's "faith-based" elementary school. Nice seat if you can get it, I suppose. What happened to saving the front seats for the elderly and those requiring assistance?
From the Star Tribune:
The Rev. Thomas Margevicius ... said it was once common for Catholic and Lutheran believers to pay for reserved seating. Name tags still hang on pews in some older churches to indicate who owned them, he said. "Some find that offensive in the present day," Margevicius said. "But it's just a cultural construct."He cautioned against passing judgment on Nativity. "How certain are we of how God believes we should act?" he said. "God comes in unexpected ways and continues to do so."
Margevicius said the biblical story of the Three Wise Men who followed a star to the Bethlehem stable where Jesus was born could be interpreted as the first instance of paying for a front-row seat at Christmas. "They brought gold, frankincense and myrrh," he said. "They had enough wealth to make the trip to see the Christ child."
I wonder what Nativity would do if I paid my $1000 and then arrived for Mass wearing a rainbow sash? Which theological principle would prevail?
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