Two parallel incidents are presented in the readings of this weekend:
A young man quickly told Moses that two elders, Eldad and Medad, started prophesying in the tent. “Joshua, son of Nun, who from his youth had been Moses' aide, said, "Moses, my lord, stop them." But Moses answered him, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets! Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!"
Like Joshua, John comes to Jesus with this report: "Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us." Jesus replies, "Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us.”
In some sense, these two separate encounters buttress the parable of the workers in the vineyard: “So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner.” The landowner’s shocking response speaks to the nature of divine surprise and the gaps in human expectations: “Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?” (Matt. 20:1-15).
Recently, I encountered an elderly Hindu man who seemed to have been impressed by our conversation about religious diversity and God’s plan to save everyone. He asked me a question, “If I come to your church, will you accept me?” That question surprised me, but spontaneously I answered him that I would accept him. Yet, my judgmental cap was on, and in my mind, I wondered what he might be coming to my church to do. Would he fit into my schema? What if I say like Moses, "Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on him!"
The normal human mode of thinking can default to passing judgment and assessing qualifications based on our schema. How often do we want people to fit into our style or schema? For the people in Moses’ community, Eldad and Medad did not fit into the schema of possible prophets. For John and the disciples of Jesus, the individual who was casting out demons did not fit into their schema and should not be allowed to do so. The same applies to the first categories of laborers in the vineyard who would wish to define the schema for paying every other laborer. In his Doxology to the Roman community, Saint Paul writes, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” (Rom. 11:33)
How should we assess God’s gifts to others? Even in the church, we notice traces of superior mentality, sometimes breeding rivalry among ministries. We notice tendencies that point to saying that someone is not qualified and should not perform a service because of certain perceptions. Among the clergy, we notice sentiments that say, “Why would this priest be the one to perform this miracle? Is he qualified to possess more powers than I am?” Human beings seem to have specific expectations from God. Hence, we feel like God disappointed us by not meeting our expectations. Then it gets complicated when we see someone who in our categorization seems less qualified perform miracles. That is called divine surprise.
Here is the missing link. The spirit given to Eldad and Medad did not diminish the spirits of the Lord upon the seventy elders. For this reason, Moses asked the question, "Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets! Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!" Similarly, the miracle performed by the man sighted by the apostles did not diminish their ministry, the reason why Jesus told them, "Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me.”
Jesus challenges us to shun jealousy, to eschew that feeling or expression of envy towards someone or toward their achievements and advantages, especially in the church. The best way to approach the gospel and to propagate the faith is to be thankful for God’s gifts to you. You must constantly pray to use those gifts generously. Focusing on other’s gifts and talents and being jealous of them is counterproductive to the mission of the gospel.
As you listen to the readings of this weekend, put yourself in the roles of the individuals mentioned and ask yourself, “Am I like Moses and Jesus, allowing and encouraging God’s spirit to flourish in others? Am I like Joshua or John, jealous that someone else is as gifted as I am or even doing better than I am? Am I like Eldad and Medad freely doing my thing and surprisingly experiencing God’s gifts demanding me to minister?” The message is that we all must commit every talent to God’s mission and purpose. St. Paul reminds all of us, “ And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-13).
Readings: 1st- Num. 11:25-29; 2nd- Jas 5:1-6; Gospel- Mk. 9:38-43, 45, 47-48
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