Week 28—Friday Philemon 15-17
Week 28—FRIDAY
“I WILL ENDUE EVEN MY SLAVES . . . WITH MY SPIRIT”
There is another item in Peter’s interpretation of what had happened with the coming of the Holy Spirit: “Yes, I will endue even my slaves, both men and women, with a portion of my spirit, and they shall prophesy” (Acts 2:18, NEB). (Why the English translators should reduce “Spirit”—the Holy Spirit—to “spirit” is a mystery, and cannot be explained except as a tendency to tone down our faith. For here, Peter was talking about the coming of the Holy Spirit!)
But the point to be noted is this: the coming of the Holy Spirit broke down the social and economic cleavage between slaves and free persons, “I will endue my slaves, both men and women, with a portion of my spirit, and they shall prophesy.” The slave was not only on the basis of equality in receiving the Holy Spirit, but in opportunity of forthtelling the Good News. That quiet happening spelled the doom of slavery. For a member of the House of Lords once said, “There is no power for reform so great as this: if alongside of a corrupt practice you lay an incompatible principle, then that incompatible principle will slowly but surely overthrow that corrupt practice. In this way the Christian principle of equality before God was placed alongside the corrupt practice of slavery and silently worked its overthrow.” And how! For the sons of those slaves are now taking over the governments in Africa and more—are standing in the United Nations and are helping in the government of the world. All in five years! A major revolution! And Dr. Ralph Bunche, a descendant of slaves, was the representative of the U.N. in the most troubled spot of Africa, the Congo, to unite them.
A black friend told me how he was in a German train and when a white woman got on he gave her his seat. He stood up for three hours. The German woman wanted to thank him, but she knew no English and he no German. So she took a piece of paper and wrote on it Isa. 58:11. White and black were united around a common loyalty to God through the Bible.
O Jesus Redeemer, you are slowly but surely redeeming this race of ours. We are in the birth throes of that redemption. Help us not to be afraid of it. For if we are afraid of it, we are afraid of sanity. We welcome your redemption. In your name. Amen.
AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY: In my eyes every person shall be, not a problem, but a possibility.