When, in the Book of Numbers, the Lord comes down in a cloud and, taking some of the spirit that was on Moses, bestows it on seventy elders, Joshua is immediately concerned: Moses, my lord, stop them, he says. Joshua seems to think that his own judgment trumps God’s judgment. But not only is Moses unwilling to question the Lord, he is also thrilled to have a greater and more diverse group of leaders to take some of the burden of leadership off of himself. Indeed, Moses is thrilled that the spirit moves the elders directly into action: Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets! Moses says. Would that the Lord might bestow his spirit on them all!
Jesus’ disciples similarly question what the Lord is doing in Mark’s Gospel. When John brings it to Jesus’ attention that someone is driving out demons in Jesus’ name, Jesus does not want the disciples to intervene: 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. John’s narrow vision precludes him from seeing the full extent of what the Lord can do; John lacks clear discernment and misunderstands his own responsibility to God and to others.
If we limit God and what God is able to accomplish in our own minds, then we will be seriously limited in what we can do on God’s behalf and how will we will respond to God at work in our lives. Such vision extends to any activity of our own that affects others’ lives. The Letter of James decries those who work for riches – treasure for the last days – rather than addressing the needs of the community. This community is not allowing God to work through them; indeed, all of their actions are contrary to God’s will. They lack the discernment sought by the psalmist in Psalm 19: Cleanse me from my unknown faults, he prays, for who can detect failings? The psalmist clearly desires God to lead him in right paths, guided by those precepts of the Lord that give joy to the heart.
We, like Joshua and the disciples, need to learn to discern where the Lord is working in our lives and where our own lives might be prone to error and sin, that our conscience and consciousness might lead us to recognize our responsibility to God and to one another. Only then can we grow past the limitations we place on God and fully appreciate those precepts of the Lord that give joy to the heart!
This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
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