the Spirit moves

I love the story of Eldad and Medad from Numbers. We aren't using this reading this week, but I still have the pleasure of reading it in my own devotional time, and I love it.

Moses has some great lines attributed to him in the OT, but this has to be in the top 5, "Would that all the LORD's people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit on them!" Amen Moses, Amen.

It is an interesting contrast to the Gospel option we've chosen, John 7.37-37 where John's editorial note smacks of bad theology, "Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified."

See 1:00-2:03 of this clip from Rob Bell's Everything is Spiritual video for some insight as to why John is wrong and the movement of the Spirit in Numbers is so cool to me.


Anyway, all that to say this; the Spirit moves a lot. She was at Creation, she was in the tent AND the camp in Numbers, she was in and with the disciples of Jesus on Pentecost, and she is hovering over us and with us and in us to this day. The Spirit moves before faith; is faith; and empowers faith. The Spirit as breath, the Spirit as wind, moves us, guides us, directs us around the stormy sea that is life in this world. The Spirit opens our eyes, our ears, our hearts to the outpouring of God's love for his Creation and motivates us to pour out our love as well. The Spirit prays when we cannot, loves when we cannot, hold out hope when we cannot. The Spirit moves a lot.

As we approach the Day of Pentecost we would do well to remember that the Spirit is at work all over the place. We are deluded when we think that we have the corner on the Spirit market and they are missing out. Even as the Spirit came upon the 68 she sought out Eldad and Medad back in the camp.