“Now two men, one named Eldad and the other Medad,

were not in the gathering but had been left in the camp.

They too had been on the list, but had not gone out to the tent;

yet the spirit came to rest on them also,

and they prophesied in the camp.

So, when a young man quickly told Moses,

‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp,’

Joshua, son of Nun, who from his youth had been Moses' aide, said,

‘Moses, my lord, stop them.’

But Moses answered him,

‘Are you jealous for my sake?

Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets!

Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!’”

“At that time, John said to Jesus,

‘Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,

and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.’

Jesus replied, ‘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.

For whoever is not against us is for us.’”

In an expanding modern capitalist economy, we understand, at least generally, that economic growth exists. Although we have a deep sense of competition, there is also the reality that the pie is getting bigger for everyone. It was not so in Jesus’s day. All assets, resources, and money were considered fixed. Yes, there was harvest and bounty, but the total yield was understood to be static. If one was to get ahead, it was only by taking from another. This fostered a mentality of scarcity. There was only so much to go around and if someone else was getting ahead, they were taking from someone else. This mentality spilled over into every area. We see that in the first and Gospel readings for today. If someone outside our group is doing good, even for our mission, they need to be stopped. There’s only so much to go around!

We can also have a similar mentality around resources. We have to get ours because there’s only so much to go around. In the church, this translates into what I call a theology of scarcity. Ministry and people have to be controlled and limited. Ideas are initially, and maybe always, shot down. The first answer is always no. I have tried, as best as I am able, to have a theology of abundance. God is at work in everyone! The Holy Spirit blows where he wills. The first answer is always yes. While prudence, competence, and sustainability are essential and must be discerned, opportunity always abounds. God is lavish and generous. Grace happens in the most unexpected places. Love knows no bounds. 

As compared to a scarcity of resources, this may be considered a scarcity of vision. Our horizons are often too small for what God is actually doing. Since my time on the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains at the Air Force Academy, the first verse of Psalm 121 has always inspired me, “I raise my eyes to the mountains…” It is for me about a higher vision, a broader horizon, a greater understanding of where God is at work. Moses and Jesus both have this higher vision. Don’t try to constrain God! Let God be God and you be you. Let the wind catch the sail and see where it will lead. It may be unexpected, surprising, or even startling. Follow where the Holy Spirit blows!