“But you’re a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” – 1 Peter 2:9-10
Every once in a while, I feel like I’ve been tossed into the growing pile of men labeled those with… “white, male, privilege.” I don’t bring up the topic… it’s usually someone else and the comments are less specific in terms of names, addresses and phone numbers but nonetheless I’m given the look that the only reason I’m able to do anything at all or have had one iota of success in life is because my parents gave me no choice. And when that happens, I normally balk at the notion.
My parents didn’t grow up with privilege. They were poor. Their fathers drank too much. My father’s parents divorced when he was fourteen… in the middle of WW2. My mother was the seventh of nine children. When she was eight years old her mother was killed by a hit and run driver. Not long after that her father ran away from home… for 23 years. That sounds a lot more like desperation than privilege as I wouldn’t want those kinds of life details for my children and grandchildren… nor yours… nor anyone’s…
In its truest sense … ‘privilege’ is a special right, an advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group… according to a quick google search… and I might add in most cases privilege is an unsolicited gift or earned. Some might say… so is a slap in the face.
When St. Peter wrote what we call his first letter… it was addressed to the Jewish people who had dispersed to other regions around the Mediterranean Sea… and there were many of them… often ridiculed and chided for what others viewed as a privileged heritage. But, as one reads that letter it’s easy to see how Peter points out everything has changed because of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and return to glory with the Father via his ascension into heaven… not a privilege but a purpose as the story declares… as long as we cannot save ourselves from sin and destruction… only Jesus could. Then did… with Peter pointing out… “The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner,” (1 Peter 2:7b) describing a great irony that the limestone left behind (rejected) used to build the walls around Jerusalem became the site of Jesus’ crucifixion… the remaining stone labeled… “Golgatha” … the ‘hill of the skull’… as from a distance people could see a face… like we would see a carved pumpkin… haunting eyes, a nose and mouth leftover from the better stones removed. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built over it and stands in Jerusalem to this day.
As I write these words, I’m mindful that Holy Week is just days away. Palm Sunday is on the doorstep and pushes us toward remembering the last supper and holy meal Jesus shared with his closest friends, the events of Good Friday where God was silent to the cries of a one and only son dying the cruel death of crucifixion but having that event overturned by Jesus’ glorious resurrection from the grave announcing eternal life to all who would believe… which makes all the difference for each day I live…
Yet, I’m mindful, also, the world can still be a mess… not a result of a privilege from God but a result of selfishness, greed, and a lack of desire for a justice for all… Faith matters. It does. It will. It always will… for if what we believe deep in our hearts leads us to a life of praise of God and service to our neighbor… that is a privilege I will always embrace. I hope you can, too.
The Rev. Dr. Brian K. Gigee is a long-time resident of Pearland, having pastored four churches over the last four decades in Texas and Louisiana. Read more following Brian’s blog ‘murmurings’ at briangigee.wordpress.com. Send comments and/or questions to godworks247365@gmail.com.
