"Would that all the the LORD's people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!" - Numbers 11.29.One of the Bible readings for Whitsunday (Pentecost) is Numbers 11.24-30. In this passage, Joshua and others are concerned that two people, named Eldad and Medad, who were not among the 70 elders, received the spirit and were prophesying. "Moses, stop them!," Joshua complained to Moses. But Moses said, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the the LORD's people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!"
So often religious people try to limit the activity of the Spirit, and they especially try to limit what people and groups have the Spirit. But Jesus teaches that the Spirit blows where She wills (John 3.8).
Joshua asked Moses to stop Eldad and Medad from prophesying, because they were not among the 70 elders and were not in the tent to receive the Spirit. This is reminiscent of a passage in the Gospel in which the disciples were concerned about someone outside their group operating in the power of the Spirit:
John answered, ‘Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he does not follow with us.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Do not stop him; for whoever is not against you is for you.’ - Luke 9.49-50
Again, the disciples want to limit where the Spirit operates. In this case, John wants to stop some one ministering in Jesus' name from doing ministry. In the case of Joshua in the passage from Numbers, he does not want the Spirit to operate in people who are not among the 70 elders. In one case, people see the Spirit as limited to the "in group;" in the other case, "to the leaders," or we might say now in modern church terms, "the hierarchy."
And that is the way it is today. Some people think that they belong to the only "true church," and that all others are false, heretical, deficient, or schismatic in some way. "Only our church has true apostolic succession;" "only our church rightly divides the word;" whatever.
Others believe that truth and authority only comes from the hierarchy, from bishops, a magisterium, a pope, a megachurch pastor, the pastors, elders, whatever. In some of these churches, power and authority rests only with males.
But the Spirit is in all. It is not restricted to anyone religion, nor does it belong only to hierarchies or church leadership. All people are competent to have direct experience of God and the Spirit, all can know the truth and be taught directly by the Spirit:
But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and all of you have knowledge. As for you, the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and so you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, abide in him. - 1 John 2.20,27. The anointing in this passage from 1 John refers to the Spirit.
On the Day of Pentecost, the Spirit operates in a very egalitarian manner; Peter on the Day of Pentecost quotes a passage from the Book of Joel:
“In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy..."
- Acts 2.17,18
Notice that the Spirit is poured out to sons, daughters, young men, old men, slaves. It is poured out on everyone. Later in the New Testament, Paul will say that in Christ, there is no Jew or Greek or barbarian, slave or free, male or female, all are one in Christ (Galatians 3.28).
In our parlance, the Spirit is poured out on everyone, regardless of gender, class, nationality, ethnicity, religion, or sexuality.
At the end of his Pentecost Sermon, Peter, still quoting from the Book of Joel says, "Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."- Acts 2.21
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord; not only those who join my church, or join my religion.
The New Covenant preached by Christ and his apostles is for everyone:
‘The days are surely coming, says the Lord,
when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah;
not like the covenant that I made with their ancestors,
on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt;
for they did not continue in my covenant,
and so I had no concern for them, says the Lord.
This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their minds,
and write them on their hearts,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
And they shall not teach one another
or say to each other, “Know the Lord”,
for they shall all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
For I will be merciful towards their iniquities,
and I will remember their sins no more.’
- Hebrews 8.8-12.
As in the passage from 1 John quoted above, this passage in Hebrews says that we will not need to teach each other to know the Lord; those with the Spirit know the Lord, they do not need a teacher. We have no gurus in Christianity, other than the Holy Spirit.
And we have to say that the Spirit is not limited to Christianity, if that is not already clear. For Paul writes in Romans:
"For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but the doers of the law who will be justified. When Gentiles, who do not possess the law, do instinctively what the law requires, these, though not having the law, are a law to themselves. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, to which their own conscience also bears witness; and their conflicting thoughts will accuse or perhaps excuse them on the day when, according to my gospel, God, through Jesus Christ, will judge the secret thoughts of all." - Romans 2.13-16.
Those outside of the Christian Church too, have God's laws written on their hearts, which is the work of the Spirit. All have the Spirit of God.
The message of Pentecost is one of inclusion, that all people bear the Spirit of God.
This post was originally published on this blog on June 12, 2011.
Readings for Pentecost from the Revised Common Lectionary:
The Lessons Appointed for Use on the |  | |
Day of Pentecost | ||
Whitsunday | ||
Acts 2:1-21
or Ezekiel 37:1-14
Psalm 104: 25-35,37
Romans 8:22-27
or Acts 2:1-21
John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
Almighty God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit: Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.or thisO God, who on this day taught the hearts of your faithful people by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit: Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Acts 2:1-21
When the day of Pentecost had come, the disciples were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs-- in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power." All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine."But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:- `In the last days it will be, God declares,
- that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
- and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
- and your young men shall see visions,
- and your old men shall dream dreams.
- Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
- in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
- and they shall prophesy.
- And I will show portents in the heaven above
- and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
- The sun shall be turned to darkness
- and the moon to blood,
- before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day.
- Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.' "
- or
Ezekiel 37:1-14
The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, "Mortal, can these bones live?" I answered, "O Lord GOD, you know." Then he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord."So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live." I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.Then he said to me, "Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, `Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.' Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act," says the Lord.
Psalm 104:25-35,37 Page 736, BCP
Benedic, anima mea
- 25
- O LORD, how manifold are your works! *
in wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures. - 26
- Yonder is the great and wide sea
with its living things too many to number, *
creatures both small and great. - 27
- There move the ships,
and there is that Leviathan, *
which you have made for the sport of it. - 28
- All of them look to you *
to give them their food in due season. - 29
- You give it to them; they gather it; *
you open your hand, and they are filled with good things. - 30
- You hide your face, and they are terrified; *
you take away their breath,
and they die and return to their dust. - 31
- You send forth your Spirit, and they are created; *
and so you renew the face of the earth. - 32
- May the glory of the LORD endure for ever; *
may the LORD rejoice in all his works. - 33
- He looks at the earth and it trembles; *
he touches the mountains and they smoke. - 34
- I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; *
I will praise my God while I have my being. - 35
- May these words of mine please him; *
I will rejoice in the LORD. - 37
- Bless the LORD, O my soul. *
Hallelujah!
Romans 8:22-27
We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.or
Acts 2:1-21
[See above]
John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15
Jesus said to his disciples, "When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning."I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But, now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, `Where are you going?' But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned."I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you."Optional parts of the readings are set off in square brackets.
The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.The Collects, Psalms and Canticles are from the Book of Common Prayer, 1979.
Source: The Lectionary Page.
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