Friday: Have Alien Ideas Invaded Us?
WEEK 7
FRIDAY
HAVE ALIEN IDEAS INVADED US?
James 2:1-4
If what has been said is true, namely, that a person as a person can and does receive the Holy Spirit, and there is no special standing or pull in the reception of this gift, then what happens to all this hierarchy of privilege and standing built up in the Christian system? Is it an alien intrusion into the Christian faith from surrounding society built on special privilege and status? It is.
The president of Harvard University, speaking at a large church, announced in opening his address: “I have been looking for the title of my address this morning and did not see it till I saw it on the church door as I came in: ‘Push!’” When the people turned around to see the sign, they saw “Pull!” Are there special inside “pulls” within the Christian churches? There are. Why do some churches have special seats in which no one can sit but a bishop? Why is there a special color for a bishop—purple? Why do bishops alone lay hands on candidates at confirmation? Can bishops alone give the Holy Spirit? Why do ministers alone give the Holy Communion? Why do they partake of it separately, either first or last? Why is the wine in the Communion given only to the clergy in some churches? Why is “His Holiness” attached to a man who occupies a certain position regardless of character and life? Why, when the World Council of Churches met, did Time magazine put the Archbishop of Canterbury on its cover page as symbolizing the council? Is that the focus of attention?
Is all this because we have been invaded by a pagan society based on special privilege and status, and forgotten the revolutionary idea of any person receiving God’s highest gift, the Spirit?
This simple fact sweeps into oblivion all alien assumptions. It is the most cleansing idea ever dropped into the human mind. It puts back the shoulders of the common human being and makes him or her infinitely worthwhile before God, hence infinitely worthwhile before all human beings. This simple fact has put more meaning into democracy and religion than all the disquisitions of philosophers put together. This is the word of democracy, spiritual and social, become flesh in a group.
O Lord, I thank you that your highest gift is open to all on equal terms. That makes me walk the earth a free person, free before you, hence free before others. Amen.
AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: I ask no special privilege, for as a human being I have the highest privilege. I am equal.