Pentecost is a day in the Jewish calendar to pause, gather and remember the great acts of God. “Pentecost” because it is 50 days after Passover. So this gathering depicted in the Acts reading isn’t surprising at all. I suspect
that Peter called a meeting. I like that our lectionary has the option of also hearing the story of Eldad (meaning “God is my uncle”) and Medad (meaning “first cousin”). It is unclear to me if Eldad and Medad were invited to the meeting Moses had called. I’m sure many of us have had jobs where we lamented the need to attend so many meetings that it didn’t seem that any actual work got done. So, for whatever reason, these two guys stayed behind in the main camp while Moses and 70 of his friends had a meeting at the tabernacle.
The surprise in this story is that Eldad and Medad also received the Holy Spirit resting upon them and they also began to prophesy. I don’t know if Moses hadn’t planned for the general population to hear these prophesies
or not. There is something in this story that is inclusive-even if you aren’t with the inner circle, you can still be touched by God. Even if you are in the wrong place, you can be touched by God. Even if you are in the general population, you can hear a message from God. Joshua is upset and rats on Eldad and Medad to Moses.
And, Moses is unconcerned that God has also gifted this portion of the Holy Spirit on these men. In fact, he expresses that he wishes that all the people could prophesy. It is unclear to me if this was a temporary gift of the spirit for these two men as it was for the 70 who attended the meeting. I like to think that the Holy Spirit might have hung around for Eldad and Medad.
How this story relates to the Pentecost story in Acts is, I believe, the gift that the Holy Spirit brought to those in the streets who heard the message in their first language-surprisingly out of the mouths of Galileans. Both stories
are inclusive-both draw in all the Jews in the vicinity-even though they didn’t all attend the meetings.
If you read through the Hebrew Scriptures, you will note that frequently the people are reminded of all the things God has done for them in the past. Especially the rescue from bondage in the land of Egypt-mentioned over and over again. Remember God cares about you. God loves you. Don’t forget! And, this was the purpose of Pentecost. Don’t forget the wonderful things God has done for you, for us.
Joshua was doing a bit of gatekeeping when he snitched on Eldad and Medad. Kyndall Rae Rothaus in the May, 2026 Sojourners posits his: “As we move from Easter through Pentecost, we witness the Spirit of God very much alive and showing up, often where we least expect. … the ways God keeps speaking and the ways we are tempted to silence, dismiss, or police those appearances. … what happens to our own scriptural story if we listen to Stephen, to Mary, to Eldad and Medad, to Hannah? What happens if we stop gatekeeping who gets to have a voice? Where might we uncover God if we were no longer covering up those we deemed unworthy? … humans find it easier to preserve order than to risk disruption, easier to protect authority than to make room for revelation. … these … texts bear witness to a Spirit who does not wait for permission but breaks through barriers in order to be heard.”
When people can hear a message in their own language, I am reminded of that old story of the Tower of Babel-that there was only one language spoken and God was unhappy. And, I wonder-was God’s dissatisfaction with the folly of the people trying to reach into the heavens or was it the insularity of speaking one official language that excluded those not engaged in this massive building project? Was it people trying to become gods or people trying to control whose voice was heard? I don’t think people hearing a message in their own language or people engaging with Eldad and Medad was what was important.
What was important was that the masses in the camp and the masses in the streets of Jerusalem heard a bonafide message from God. Directly. No gatekeeper. The people in the camp were doing what they did every day- feeding their kids, caring for their flocks, mending clothes, repairing tents and the folks on the street in Jerusalem were headed to or from the market, greeting neighbors, hurrying to a meeting. And, the Spirit broke through with a message when they least expected it.
Jesus, in John 7, says, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” 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.
This indwelling Spirit of God is that living water and it can flow out of any of us. With this indwelling Spirit, I hope that we can see people as beloved by God-worthy of the Holy Spirit. That we can find, hear and see the Spirit of God in unexpected places and people.
Male and female, slave and free, and Jew and Gentile. We can move our focus from looking up in the sky for Jesus and see our savior in one another and those we meet in unexpected places.