Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29

Psalm 19

James 4:7 – 5:6

MARK 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

Sermon – October 1, 2006

Eldad, Medad and Us

Moses said to Joshua, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put the Spirit upon them!”

Have you ever felt that your boss was asking too much of you?

Have you ever felt that you had been assigned responsibilities which weren’t in the job description when you “came on board”? Responsibilities that, really, were more than any one person could handle?

Have you ever felt close to burn-out or a breakdown because of job stress, especially from a job that seems to haunt you 24/7?

Have you ever wanted to tell your boss exactly how you feel about all of the above?

If you can answer “yes” to any of these questions now, could have at any time in the past, or could imagine doing so in the future, check out today’s first Bible passage.

Moses is your kind of guy.

The people of Israel had been liberated from slavery in Egypt, delivered from the world’s most powerful army, miraculously brought across the waters into freedom, given water in the wilderness, food providentially provided by God, the 10 Commandments and other laws to help mold them into a nation and not a mob, a great leader, and the divine presence and God’s guidance 24/7. Yet, at the opening of today’s reading their only comment is: “Why isn’t there meat on the table every night?”

Moses was sick to death of their whining, and sounded like he was almost ready to “go postal” on somebody. Thankfully, he was able to do something most people only dream of: complain fully and candidly to his boss.

The LORD.

God listened.

And then God did not say, “Just take it, you wimp” or “mandatory overtime this weekend” or “are you finished now? I want that project report done by Monday, not by Wednesday.”

Instead, God said, “Pick 70 leaders to help you lead, and I will send my Spirit to them, to empower and guide them, to share the leadership under you.”

And God even sent God’s Spirit to two guys, Eldad and Medad, who weren’t even in the designated spot to receive the Spirit. This upset Joshua, a military man who liked everything to be tightly disciplined and in the right place at the right time.

Which is fine, up to a point. But to Moses, Joshua was missing the larger point: that God has sent his Spirit to many people, wherever they are, because God’s Spirit is not limited to certain places any more than God’s Spirit is reserved for only one person.

And then Moses expressed his heartfelt wish, “Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put the Spirit upon them!”

Folks, the dream of Moses has come true IN US. Christians believe that the Holy Spirit comes to believers at baptism, and gives to the baptized seven gifts: the forgiveness of sin, the new life of grace, being sustained in the Holy Spirit, an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, the gift to know and love God, and the gift of joy and wonder in all God’s works, as it says in The Book of Common Prayer.

Now, just as in the 13^th century B.C., when the Spirit came to Eldad and Medad when they were in the camp, in the Sinai desert, not in the specially designated “holy place” the empowerment the Holy Spirit offers us is not just for use in church or in church-sponsored activities, but everywhere and in every situation.

Being a Christian is a “24/7” job.

Of course, there are some who try to “compartmentalize” their lives, to be pious Sunday morning and shred the commandments on other days – the kind of people who give Christianity a bad name. Our Epistle reading this morning from James takes dead aim at these kinds of people, especially rich people who exploit their workers. It’s not hard to figure out what James would have to say about the leaders of scandal-ridden corporations or other institutions who practice one pose on Sunday mornings and live a very different life the rest of the week.

Thankfully, though, there are many who do make the connection between what they believe and what they practice through the week. Thankfully, there are many who are empowered to help their neighbors, for example, in unexpected emergencies – like when a 35-ton dump truck ran a stoplight at the intersection of Route 517 and Route 181 in Sparta, New Jersey, on Thursday and collided with a school bus, which slid off the road and burst into flames with 18 people on board.

“In an instant,” reported The Star Ledger, “at least a dozen good Samaritans descended on the bus in a frantic effort to free the driver, the students and a faculty aide.” All survived, all were hospitalized, 15 of the 18 were treated and released.

I have no idea of the faiths of any of those involved, including the staff on board, but it doesn’t matter. God can help all kinds of people. They all responded in powerful, helpful ways in a crisis situation. The students, on the way to learn about Community Service, received an unforgettable lesson from the “Good Samaritans.”

God can help people respond to inexplicable tragedy as well.

Emily Keyes was the 16-year-old high school student killed by an intruder in Bailey, Colorado, last week. Thursday, Louis Gonzales, the spokesman for the family, told the world, “In memory of Emily, we would like everyone to go out and do random acts of kindness, random acts of love to your friends, or your neighbors or your fellow students because there is no way to make sense of this. It’s what Emily would have wanted.”

Again, I don’t know what Emily’s faith, if any, was, but the principle the family enunciated is sound. In time of tragedy, love.

It’s a principle Christians should remember and all can embrace. It is certainly what Jesus calls people to do – whether or not they are part of any Christian Church. That’s what the apostle John was quibbling about with Jesus in today’s Gospel: he wanted Jesus to restrict the Spirit’s gifts and powers to those who were in what you might call “the disciples’ union” – the future church.

Jesus refused saying, “Whoever is not against us is for us.”

Of course, it should not take a tragedy to jolt us into doing “random acts of kindness” or loving our neighbors. It should not take a spectacular accident to bring people to the aid of fellow travelers on the earth.

God has given each and all of us 24 hours every day. What we do and how we do it can be shaped by us into ways that we show our love for God and for others – or not.

And so, Christian stewardship is really about how we use all of our time, not just with church activities, and all of our money, not just that which goes into the offering plate.

We at St. Barnabas are trying to be more and more explicit about that, by specifically honoring people for ministries which are part of their daily lives including as well as beyond church. On Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, of course, we give thanks for Moms and Dads. On “Education Sunday” each Spring, we give thanks for that year’s graduates and for all who have ministries as educators, whether hall monitors or principals, teachers or maintenance workers, food service staff or superintendents, paraprofessionals or bus drivers. Three weeks ago, we gave thanks for all First Responders and Homeland Security workers. Two weeks from today, on October 15, we will give thanks for all health professionals, whether surgeons or home health aides, physical therapists or hospital desk clerks, cleaning personnel or nurses, pharmaceutical researchers or food service personnel – anyone who draws a paycheck from a ministry dedicated to healing.

But TODAY is “Eldad and Medad Day.” TODAY is the day for EVERYONE of whatever age, occupation or situation. You’ve got 24 hours, each day, every day. How do you use it to show your love for God and your neighbor? And let’s remember – our “neighbors” are not just human beings! In our psalm this morning, we give thanks for the whole creation, so we can show our love for God by loving all God’s creatures, great and small, and the environment in which we all live.

So please look in your service leaflet for the blue card that looks like this (display). Please take it out and look at it, and start writing down things you do which are not church work which you hereby dedicate to the glory of God. They could be attitudes or actions you bring to your home, work, neighborhood or school environment, causes you support locally or nationally, walk-a-thons you go on, other volunteering you do. If you need a card or a pen and don’t have one, raise your hand and an usher will bring you one. Remember, being a parent, a child or a sibling is a ministry if you make it so.

Let’s take a minute to start this process. (Long pause.)

Now, I ask you, take these cards home and put them on your refrigerators or your shaving mirrors or some other place where you’ll see them everyday, add to them, pray for God’s Spirit to empower you in all the right ways as you do them, and then bring the cards back next week and put them in the offering plate.

Moses’ dream has come true. And, thank God, there are a lot more than 72 people just in this church community who have received God’s Spirit. Alleluia, alleluia!

(The Rev.) Francis A. Hubbard

St. Barnabas Episcopal Church

Monmouth Junction, New Jersey