Friday, 3/17So the Lord said to Moses, ‘Gather for me seventy of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tent of meeting, and have them take their place there with you. I will come down and talk with you there; and I will take some of the spirit that is on you and put it on them; and they shall bear the burden of the people along with you so that you will not bear it all by yourself. Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the
camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, ‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.’ And Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, ‘My lord Moses, stop them!’ But Moses said to him, ‘Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!’ In a place such as Greenwich, CT it is easy to get sucked into cultural norms and social expectations. The pressure to look and act a certain way, especially in public, can be enormous. Social norms are not a bad thing. The etiquette classes that we host here at the Church surely teach our young people a great deal that will serve them well in the future. They are well equipped for fitting in with the group in their forthcoming academic, social, and business lives. And along with this brilliant service, I hope that we are also teaching them that it is okay to break the rules once in a while to step outside the group, stay behind, and say what is needed. Perhaps to even say the name God when it isn’t cool or respected. And to be the voice that needs to be heard, popular or not. - The Rev’d Suzanne Culhane
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