They Are Not Like Us

September 29, 2024; Nm 11:25-29; 26th Sunday n Ordinary Time

Wouldn’t life be wonderful if everyone was like us—if everyone spoke the same language, believed in the same God, liked the same music, and saw truth in the same way we do. How many fewer arguments, misunderstandings, and even violent confrontations would there be if we were all the same.

But we are not the same. There are over eight billion people in our world, and each one is different from the next. These differences can challenge us and at times upset us. Joshua is upset in today’s first reading. Moses wanted God’s Spirit to decend upon the seventy elders of Israel. So he directed them to meet in the communal tent. Two of the elders, Eldad and Medad, did not go to the tent. Yet when the spirit descended, all seventy elders, including Eldad and Medad, began to prophesy. Josua was upset by this. Eldad and Medad did not follow Moses’ command. So, Joshuah asks Moses to stop them. Moses knows better. He knows that God’s Spirit is greater than he is and could move in ways he could not predict. Even though Moses’ authority was genuine and his directions clear, God was not bound to follow them. God is free to do whatever God wills.

This is an important biblical truth to remember when we must deal with people who are different than us. God made people different. So we should presume that God’s presence can be found in those differences. God can be found in those of a different race, religion, or political opinion. God can be found in those who do not go to church, who fail to follow the rules and live in unorthodox ways. This does not mean that there is no right or wrong or that everything is up for grabs. But it does mean that the way we picture right and wrong is often incomplete. And when we claim to have the truth, we should do so with humility because someone else might know a part of the truth that we are unable to see.

So when we must deal with people who are different, the important question for a Christian is: what do they see of God that I do not see. What does my spouse see about raising our children that I have not considered? What does my neighbor know about electing a president that I have already dismissed?  What does my enemy understand about family that is beyond my present conviction?  Moses tells Joshua that he wishes all people would have God’s Spirit. Moses was a wise man. For “all people” is exactly where God’s Spirit is already at work.