Loading...We just don’t talk about the Spirit enough!
Oh, maybe at school for Spirit week – if you are part of that group.
But, in our everyday lives?
We really don’t talk about the Holy Spirit!
Yet, the Spirit is a basic and fundamental part of who we are, even if we don’t notice or pay much attention.
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The people and “the rabble” (the hangers-on) were complaining people!
And poor ol’ Moses was done with them. He wanted relief or death.
Poor Moses was tired of bearing the burden of leadership.
He had not trained anyone and he had not cultivated an ethos of collaboration.
God was in charge – and he was the human leader (where were Aaron and Miriam?)
But it was too much!
There were many people in a stressful experience and a difficult situation. And they complained and acted out.
Moses? Moses was angry and he told God that he was finished.
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I wonder if we get stuck and angry in our lives
thinking there is only one way to do things, else things be a failure and disaster.
We get to thinking that only one solution is possible. And that binds us up.
My friend Lee has reminded me (and I repeat this adage often!):
“When you are on the horns of a dilemma, look for the third way.”
In other words, think outside the box, be creative, consider other possibilities, even if they seem impossible or too fantastical.
In our first reading, that is exactly what God does:
he instructs Moses to gather those who have shown leadership qualities and potential – 70 of them – and take them to a special place.
The Holy Spirit is given to them.
The ruach – breath of God – is blown upon them.
This ruach is the same breath that is blown as creation is brought into being.
It is the same breath that parts the sea and is later given
to the dry bones in the valley.
The Spirit is blown upon them and they have the gift of prophecy – speaking for God to the people – and of leadership to help Moses.
This is great!
If this was the whole story then we could give thanks to God for providing for our needs, and for the Spirit in our leaders.
But that is not all. The story goes on and is fantastic because of Eldad and Medad.
These two guys “missed the bus” to the special place where the Holy Spirit was to be given. They were still back at camp. They were supposed to go with the others (which meant that actually only 68 elders ended up being in the tent where the Holy Spirit blew).
Yet, that did not matter. It did not matter that they were not in the special place.
They got the breath of God in the Holy Spirit anyway. Right where they were. In camp. They got it, and they started to prophesy.
A breathless messenger ran to find Moses and to tell him that Eldad and Medad were speaking in God’s name, that they were prophesying in God’s name.
This is out of bounds! This is unheard of! This cannot be!!
The whole thing was new, but Joshua and the others were pretty sure that this behavior of Eldad’s and Medad’s was NOT ok.
Except Moses.
Moses welcomed it!
Moses gave thanks for it!
Moses okayed it!
Eldad and Medad were filled with the Holy Spirit! They were doing God’s work and the Spirit rested upon them.
And it was good: “Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!”
Indeed.
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Jesus’ followers also worried about this: “We saw someone casting out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.”
But Jesus doesn’t mind; Jesus welcomes others: “whoever is not against us is for us.”
Jesus does not put boundaries up.
The Spirit is not limited by who is following whom.
Jesus’ concern is – are people being loved and cared for?
The Spirit is loose!
The Spirit is loose!
The Spirit is given freely and abundantly to any and all and everyone!
What about you?
How is the Spirit loose in your life?
In your baptism, you were filled with the Holy Spirit and given the gifts of courage, wisdom, knowledge, joy, hilarity, curiosity, love of others, and love of God.
So, then what?
How do you use your God-given Spirit of possibility?
How does the ruach blow through your life?
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Far too often we get caught up in the “supposed to” or “allowed to”, as in
“who is allowed to be part of the group?” or
“who is supposed to be doing that ministry?”
That is putting our minds of human things, not divine.
The Spirit calls each of you to ministries. the Spirit has given you gifts, abilities, excitement for all kinds of things. There are no “supposed to” or “allowed to” limitations, because this is the work of and the call of the Spirit.
Today, we highlight the ministry of healing. You will have a chance to come forward to receive an anointing with oil, and prayers. Healing is offered and happens in a variety of modes: prayer, anointing, laying on of hands, action, conversation, and reconciliation.
Healing can be a physical healing,
and it can be emotional, psychological, relational, or spiritual.
At the heart of it all is the love of God, the mercy of God, and the grace of God. All of us have been given these gifts. All of us have been empowered by the Holy Spirit.
All of you are the Eldads and Medads because the Spirit is loose amongst us,
and you are sent to share this healing love in this broken world,
for hurting families,
in broken relationships,
for hurting people,
for God’s beloved world – with hope, justice, and mercy.
Amen
