week 18

Psalm: Psalm 124
Old Testament: Numbers 11:4-29
Gospel: Mark 9:38-50
Epistle: James 5:13-20

This week presents some interesting stories and ones that are often overlooked in the Church today and probably throughout history.  Let us first look at the passage from Numbers.  This chapter presents the well-known story of the Israelites complaining because the manna has gotten too boring and they need some meat in their diet.  I don’t think we can blame then.  Well, ultimately, the Lord provided quail with the manna, but it came with a plague because of the people’s complaining and failing to trust God.  But there is a weird incident in the middle of this.  For a reason not explained in the text, Moses called 70 elders to stand outside the tent of meeting while he heard from the Lord.  Two of them remained in the camp and prophesied instead.  This caused quite a stir because they were disobedient, but the word of the Lord comes, “Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them!” (11:29) Let’s leave it there for now with the Spirit of Lord working in strange ways.

Our passage in Mark also opens up with some apparent unauthorized work in the name of the Lord.  John, the disciple, complained to Jesus that people were casting out demons in his name.  But Jesus doesn’t care; he declares that whoever isn’t against him is for him and that those who do something in Jesus’ name won’t be able to quickly turn around and then curse him.

When I first read James, I was confused about how this fits into the other passages, but I think the connection is that anyone is capable of reaching out to God in prayer, to praise, or to heal.  It is interesting that the passage says that if anyone is sick, then they are to call the elders and be anointed, but later, it says to pray for one another so that you may be healed and that “the effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” (5:16) We no longer have to go to a priest like in the Old Testament to speak to and hear from God. But, we must remember how even in the Old Testament, God was reaching out and using people outside the establishment.

Perhaps the reason why these passages and others like them don’t get much air time is because, in a way, they are subversive.  They allow God to work outside the realm of the church hierarchy.  This was something that the medieval Catholics faced time and time again.  There were the mystics like Hildegard Von Bingen, monastic orders such as the Franciscans, later pre-reformers like Jan Hus, and Martin Luther.  In their own way, they challenged church authority and claimed direct authority from God.  This, of course, got them into trouble and I just wonder if this is true in our churches today.  Are we open to new movements of the Spirit?  Do we place too much emphasis on church authority, i.e. pastors, to do the work of the Lord instead of taking some responsibility?

These are, of course, difficult questions that must be wrestled with.  How do we know if the messages are from God, ourselves, or the devil?  This is what the Israelites in Numbers and later, the disciples, were wondering.  They were trying to protect the Lord from unauthorized use.  They wanted to guard the Lord’s name and ensure that its “brand” wasn’t tarnished.  What happens if all of these false prophets start using Jesus’ name and then it comes to mean something totally different?  Although these are legitimate concerns, I think the reading this week opens our eyes up to two realities.  One, God will be responsible to protect his reputation and name.  That much is made obvious in lots of the Scripture, and it’s not our responsibility to protect God’s name or reputation.  Two, God often works in ways and through people we might be uncomfortable with and not fully understand. 

Let me leave us with a verse that speaks to this very point.  I hope that we aren’t the ones trying to tame God and tell him where and when he can speak to us.

“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8)

Grace and Peace this week.