The spirit blows where he wills, Jesus said, which means you cannot box God in.<\/p>\n
We Anglicans have a particularly hard time with this since we are told to expect worship to be \u201cdecent and in order.\u201d\u009d But\u201d\u201dhave you noticed–things don\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s 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.
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Moses did his part, and God came through also: \u201cthe LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to \u201d\u00a6[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).\u201d\u009d So far, so good.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Joshua the son of Nun objected. This isn\u2019t according to Hoyle! It isn\u2019t in the Vestry handbook! Moses, put a stop to it, he says.<\/p>\n
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)<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t return first.<\/p>\n
–The Rev. Dr. Kendall S. Harmon is Canon Theologian of the Diocese of South Carolina and the convenor of this blog<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 \u201cdecent and in order.\u201d\u009d But\u201d\u201dhave you noticed–things…<\/span><\/p>\n