My Dear People,

In this week’s Reading, the Lord spoke to Moses and bestowed the spirit on the  seventy elders (picked by Moses), and they began to prophesy. However, two men, Eldad and Medad were not at the gathering but were left in the camp, and the spirit came to rest upon them, too! They began prophesying in the camp. Joshua, Moses’ aide, wanted Moses to stop them. However, Moses in his wisdom replied to him, “Do not stop them!  Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets?” 

The problem, it seems, is manipulation and control of the Spirit. God Himself is the source of the Spirit, and He can give it to whomever He chooses, irrespective of human qualifications. Moses, for his part, has absolutely the right attitude. He has no desire to monopolize the Spirit or to be its only channel. He seeks only the people’s welfare and is delighted to see signs of the Spirit in other people. Indeed, he would like all the Israelites to have it.  

A similar situation in the Gospel is John, who like Joshua (who was closest to Moses) was close to Jesus, yet he wanted Jesus to stop all those who were driving out demons in the name of Jesus.  

Jesus says: “Do not prevent them. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name, who can, at the same time, speak ill of me.” (9:39) In fact, by exorcizing demons in Jesus’ name, the man was not only unlikely to speak ill of Jesus but was also undoubtedly causing many others to speak favorably of Him.

 So, the question is, where is the love of the Disciples directed—at themselves or  Jesus? If their love is for Jesus, then they will foster the exclusivity that promotes the service of others. Nurturing more people’s gifts for ministry will lead to more people being saved. 

Finally, Jesus bolsters the Disciples’ desire to serve by intertwining their future with the future of the people they serve. Impairing the faith of anyone is impairing one’s own faith, and so it is risking the loss of eternal life (9:42-48). 

I think Jesus is calling His Disciples to look honestly at their lives and face whatever it is that leads them away from God. “Deal with it,” He says. We must always watch what we hold, the path we choose to walk, and the vision that guides us. 

Those on the inside can lose sight of, lose touch with, and go off the path that takes us to the Kingdom. They can take others with them. 

What matters is that God’s work be done. God will see to it; don’t get in the way.  [Source: the Navarre Bible]

Sincerely yours in Christ, 

Fr. Vincent Clemente