I
Corinthians 3:17- “Now
the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is
freedom.”
20th
February is observed as the world day of Social Justice. Taking this
scenario as the background of our meditation, we are pondering about
the scripture, Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians chapter 3
verse 17. In verse 17 we read, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and
where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
In
verse 6 Paul had introduced the spirit as life giving. Life means
freedom and so, where the spirit is, there is freedom. Here, the word
freedom refers to the freedom in speaking, the freedom from the
bondage of ceremonialism, freedom from the limitations of legality,
freedom from the dominion of sin and freedom from the fear of death.
Therefore, under the influence of this Spirit, Paul says that, he was
able to speak with openness and boldness. As we know, in Hebrew Ruah
means spirit. It also means Breath of God or Wind. Wind stands for
the existence of an uncontrollable energy. In the Gospel of John
chapter 3 verse 8 we read “the wind blows where it chooses, and you
hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or
where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the spirit.”
This indicates that Ruah -the wind- means freedom. So I would like to
rephrase the wind of God as the freedom of God. It is the freedom of
God, which swept over the surface of water, that reorders the order
of chaos to the order of creation. It is the freedom of God, which
breathes upon the slain, which reordered the order of dry bones to
the order of life. It is the freedom of God dwelling upon Jesus,
which reordered the order of captivity to the order of freedom. It is
the freedom of God that encourages human beings to seek freedom and
justice by reordering the existing order. That is why Paul says
“where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
Ruah,
the Wind of God: Reordering the Existing Order to Ensure Justice
How
do freedom and justice relate together? Freedom and justice go hand
in hand. According to Immanuel Kant, justice is the requirement of
freedom. He says that justice is fully satisfied when the exercise of
freedom of each is consistent with the equal freedom of all others.
The general secretary of United Nations Ban Ki-Moon said that, I
quote, “The gap between the poorest and the wealthiest around the
world is wide and growing. This situation is not only between
countries but within them, including many of the most prosperous.”
He declared that the world day of social justice is observed to
highlight the power of global solidarity to advance opportunity for
all. We are called to serve the needs of all members of our global
family, especially women, older persons and persons with
disabilities, indigenous peoples and the poor and marginalized among
us. How can we ensure justice and freedom for all? It is possible
only by reordering the order. Then the question arises: What kind of
order? Paul, in his letter to the Romans Chapter 12 verse 1, asks the
fellow believers to offer their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy
and acceptable to God. Because that is the spiritual worship
acceptable to God. And he also adds “do not be conformed to this
world”, which means do not be adjusted to the order of this present
world. That is, the order of the worship of God is not the same as
the order of the world with its prevailing structures. Because, the
structures of the world bring injustice and oppression to the poor.
Therefore, if human beings must have order, it is important to find
out what sort of order it is and how it may be available.
Now
the need arises to renew the social realities. And history has proven
that this simply cannot be done without a certain amount of reorder.
The wind of freedom -the holy spirit- disrupts the prevailing order.
Indeed, such reordering causes uncertainty and distress. At this
point, it is important to distinguish between the blind
destructiveness and creative reorder. In Egypt, the people were
slaves. The Israelites cried out and their appeal for rescue from
their slavery rose up to God. Let me quote Bishop Paulose Mar
Paulose, “A cry is a manifestation of a reordering energy, which
gives rise to the organization of a new order.” And this cry causes
to break the order of slavery. But the march towards the Promised
Land was not a disordered movement. From the disorder produced by the
desire for freedom and justice, a new order started to emerge. Even
though that order became the Torah for Israelites, it was not static.
The reordering of Torah results in the Code of Alliance, the
Deuteronomic code and the Code of Sanctity. And Jesus reordered this
code as Code of Love. The order has to be considered and reconsidered
according to the circumstances and to be reordered in the light of
new realities of life. Since the organization of the order is by
human initiative, there is a chance for corruption. Yes, it is true
that the alternatives can also be corrupted and they could also deny
justice and freedom. That is why the liberation ethics proposes the
reassessing of the existing order. This reassessing and reordering
are the result of the Wind of God. Where the spiritual energies of
the people are moved by the spirit of God, they will reintroduce
freedom and justice into human social relationships. That is why Paul
says in the read text “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the
Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
How
does this reassessing and reordering wind of God act in our personal
and ministerial life? As I mentioned in the beginning, we are called
to ensure the freedom and justice to the deserving. For that we need
to be shaken by the Wind of God. Our predetermined and prejudiced
order of mind should be shaken and reordered. Then only we will be
able to reorder the unjust patriarchal caste ridden traditions and
rituals which deny justice to the margins. The church reformed is a
church reforming. So that it is needed to keep alive the spirit of
constant radical renewal and reformation in the life of our churches
and communities. Let me conclude my reflection with the words of
Archbishop Nathan Soderblom: “When the spirit of God visits
humanity, it kindles a flame in our heart, a fire of love and justice
with the ardent compassion of Christ.” May the reordering wind of
the living God fall fresh on us. May the reassessing wind of the
living God melt and mold us and may the liberating wind of the living
God fill us and use us. Amen.
Gibin Thampy
BD II
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