Unsuited to the Task?

(a Steve Orr Bible reflection)

JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy is about a company of persons chosen to go on a great quest.

As is common in such quests, the fellowship—charged with shepherding the Ring of Power to its destruction in the volcanic fires of Mount Doom—is packed with persons of great stature. There are great warriors—current royals, future royals, the brave, the bold—and some Hobbits. 

Those hairy-footed little Hobbits—not the royal, the brave, or the bold—are the focus of the story. They are from a pleasant backwater of Middle Earth called The Shire. These little beings live generally low-key, unsophisticated lives, taking joy from eating and drinking and other homely activities. They lead the kinds of lives where Second Breakfast may well be the high point of the day.

And yet, Tolkien chose Hobbits to actually bear the powerful and corrupting Ring of Power to its intended unmaking. Much debated: Why were the Hobbits entrusted with such a crucial task?

It reminds me of the crowd’s reaction at Pentecost to those Jesus chose as the bearers of His Good News. In this week’s Acts passage, they are empowered to speak in many languages by the Holy Spirit, which appears like “tongues of fire” above their heads. The crowd members were “utterly amazed” that those speaking were “Galileans.” I know it’s not a movie script, but I think the Bible translators may have really undersold the crowd's reaction. Shouldn't there be an exclamation point in there somewhere?

Umm, Galileans? Really?!

That pretty much sums up the general response of ... well, almost everyone who encountered this band of Jesus-followers. They were considered unsophisticated and ill-suited to the tasks they had been assigned. Nathanael was likely not the first (nor the last, I’m sure) to ask: Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?

And yet, these rough people are the ones Jesus chose.

In The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf chose the Hobbits to take the ring to its doom because they could bear it. He chose them instead of every other member of the fellowship—the royal, the brave, the bold—who would likely succumb to the corruption that comes from possessing such great power.  

I don't think we know why Jesus chose the Galileans for the core of His group. But maybe it was for a similar reason. None of the seemingly obvious choices, as it turned out, were really appropriate.

Sometimes, the very person needed for the 

difficult task is the one judged as least likely. Never forget: God chooses whom God chooses—and God often chooses “the least of these.”

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Be with us Friday morning as we prepare for Pentecost Sunday. DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast begins at 8:00 and finishes in about an hour (or sooner if you need to leave…but you'll find it's more fun to stay). We're on Zoom* and at Our Breakfast Place. Come and enjoy good food, friendly people, laughter, and time in the scriptures.

We're not expecting any tongues of fire, but Cholula Hot Sauce is available upon request.

Blessings,

Steve

*Zoom link (Zoom allows you to mute the camera and the microphone if you don’t wish to be seen or heard.)

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY AND THE COMING WEEK

Find them here

Print them here

Acts 2:1-21 or Numbers 11:24-30

Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 or Acts 2:1-21

John 20:19-23 or John 7:37-39

Day of Pentecost (May 24, 2026)