1st Reading – Numbers 11:25-29

The LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses.
Taking some of the spirit that was on Moses,
the LORD bestowed it on the seventy elders;
and as the spirit came to rest on them, they prophesied.

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!”

The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Pentateuch, narrating the journey of the Israelites from Mount Sinai to the Promised Land, covering their 40 years in the wilderness. It records their struggles with faith and their evolving relationship with God.

The name of the book comes from the two censuses of the Israelites that occur in it, one at the beginning and another near the end of the book. In Hebrew, the book is called Bamidbar (“In the Wilderness”), which reflects the central theme of their desert wanderings and the lessons learned along the way.

Today’s reading is an unusual story about the bestowal of the spirit of prophecy. Continue reading “Sep 29, 2024: 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)” →