The spirit blows where he wills, Jesus said, which means you cannot box God in.
We Anglicans have a particularly hard time with this since we are told to expect worship to be “decent and in order.” But””have you noticed–things don’t always work like that. Life is not so much a problem to be solved as a mystery to be lived. When God is in charge patterns can be broken, expectations can be shifted, and all heaven can break loose.
One biblical story which speaks to this is the tale of Eldad and Medad in Numbers 11. Moses and the people of God are in a dispute about misfortune and food and Moses is getting blamed and feeling burdened. God asks Moses to gather seventy men among Israel’s elders who would be enabled to share the burdens of the people. It had to be done, however, outside the camp at the tent of meeting.
Moses did his part, and God came through also: “the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to ”¦[Moses], and took some of the spirit that was upon him and put it upon the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied (Numbers 11:25).” So far, so good.
But there was a problem. Two other men named Eldad and Medad who were not chosen by Moses and not at the tent of meeting also prophesied. Wrong people, wrong place. Uh oh.
Joshua the son of Nun objected. This isn’t according to Hoyle! It isn’t in the Vestry handbook! Moses, put a stop to it, he says.
But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!” (Numbers 11:29)
Moses is commendably open to letting God be God in a surprising way. Please note, too, that it is the younger Joshua who is unduly limited by the script and the older Moses who is willing to ad lib and go with the flow of the Holy Spirit.
I pray that all of us will learn to be less like Joshua and more like Moses in the days and years ahead, if our Lord doesn’t return first.
–The Rev. Dr. Kendall S. Harmon is Canon Theologian of the Diocese of South Carolina and the convenor of this blog
You are to be commended, Kendall, for noting this story in which Moses – increasing in wise humility directly proportional to his years – insists on always allowing for God’s will to surprise us and considering it a duty to listen to new prophets for what might be God’s latest surprises. This story about Moses is the timeless biblical call for a preferential option for liberality, rather than reactivity, in matters of Judaeo-Christian religion – and, by extension, in every area of human relations.
How can you say that you are Anglicans when you are Episcopalians…?
Thanks Kendall. One of my favorite stories from the time of Moses.
I’ll add my thanks too, Kendall. It’s not an easy passage to preach from, and thus stimulating, sample sermons on it are especially welcome.
BTW, one of the reasons why I chose the moniker NRA is that I’m firmly convinced that among the unfinished business of the 16th century Reformation is the returning of ministry to the whole People of God. Under ++Cranmer and later Queen Elizabeth, Anglicanism returned the Bible and the liturgy to the laity by putting them into English and producing a Book of [b]Common[/b] Prayer. But unfortunately, we were unable to return much ministry to them then, leaving the so-called “Priesthood of All Believers” more of an ideal than a reality. In my opinion, one of the most promising developments in church life today is the decentralizing of much basic pastoral ministry through the creation of small home groups led by dedicated lay men and women. Some people would even call this the start of a New Reformation. I agree, although there is much more going on than that.
Gratefully,
David Handy+