You Are a Spiritual Animal

Ecclesiastes 3:16-4:3

When our children were little one of their favorite video tapes was a Disney sing-along that included the song, “You Are A Human Animal.”

You are a human animal,

You are a very special breed,

For you are the only animal

Who can think, who can reason, who can read.

There is an interesting parallelism to the song at work in our reading from Ecclesiastes today. “I said in my heart with regard to human beings,” we read, “that God is testing them to show that they are but animals. For the fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and humans have no advantage over the animals; for all is vanity. All go to one place; all are from the dust, and all turn to dust again” (Ecclesiastes 3:18-20). The writer of Ecclesiastes would likely concede that people can read and write and think, but would then point out that their end is the same as that of animals. “All is vanity."

John Macquarrie might disagree. In his essay, “Spirit and Spirituality,” Macquarrie makes the point that “’spirit’ names a kind of being that is somehow shared by [humanity] with the Spirit of God. Spirit is present in and constitutive of [humanity], as well as God…Thus [humanity], alone among all the beings on earth, was granted a share of spirit.” In his article, “Spirituality in the Recovery Process,” F. A. Prezioso makes virtually the same point. “Spirituality is a quality that belongs exclusively to the human animal,” he writes.

What then are we to say about these things? The writer of Ecclesiastes believed that humanity is but a facet of creation, a part of the bigger picture with a role to play in relation to God but with no real advantage within the realm of history. When we consider the presence of the spirit in human life, though, and the relationship between God and humanity in the creation narrative and elsewhere we find a much different image. We alone among all forms of life have a claim on God’s image and God’s presence for we alone have been filled with the divine breath which is our “inspiration.” We may be human animals, but there is much more to it than that.

Prayer: Lord, it is you who have breathed life into us. Help us to honor your presence in all that we do, for it is in Jesus’ name that we pray. Amen.