Saturday, October 7, 2023

7 October 2023 - staying small


The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus,
"Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name."

This was indeed a great thing, a thing worthy of joy. These demons seemed more or less to prowl unchecked before the coming of Jesus. People dealing with others possessed by demons seemed mostly resigned to acceptance. It was apparently the case that the Pharisees did sometimes were able to drive out demons (see Matthew 12:27). But it seems clear from the conditions Jesus and his followers encountered that this wasn't easy or automatic and probably did not always or even often succeed. What was it that made the difference from the seventy-two? What made that which was almost impossible for the others easy for them? It was "because of your name", because of the name of Jesus. Of course this would only make sense if the name of Jesus was in an entirely different category from that of Abraham, Moses, David, or Elijah. We can't imagine that anyone would or should try to cast out demons in the name of a prophet or a king. This is evidence that corroborates what Paul wrote in his letter to the Philippians, that God highly exalted Jesus "and bestowed on him the name that is above every name" (see Philippians 2:9). It helps us to understand why "there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (see Acts 4:12).

Jesus said, "I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.
Behold, I have given you the power
'to tread upon serpents' and scorpions
and upon the full force of the enemy
and nothing will harm you.

Satan had authority over the fallen aspects of the world, such that he was able to tempt Jesus by offering him all the "kingdoms of the world" and could perhaps have actually delivered them (see Matthew 4:8-9). But that authority was now in the midst of being broken, shattered first by Jesus himself and then further by his disciples using the authority which he himself gave to them. Jesus spoke of this victory, then in progress, from a spiritual and prophetic perspective when he said, "I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky". And this had always been the plan. It was never God's intention to leave his creatures in the hands of hostile and demonic powers. What was promised in the prophetic ninety-first psalm was being realized by his disciples.

Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you,
but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.

There would certainly have been the temptation to move from celebrating the good of spiritual freedom accomplished through the name of Jesus to becoming prideful about one's own involvement in the process, the sense of self-importance that "the spirits are subject to you" rather than remembering it was about his name. No doubt this is one reason why he went on to speak about the need to remain humble and childlike.

I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.

When we become childlike in this sense we become safe vehicles through which the authority of the name of Jesus can transform the world. His power, the deepest truths of his revelation, are reserved for those who abandon themselves to him in childlike trust. Further, these little ones must never outgrow this condition, must never arrive at the thought that 'Now I can do it on my own', for what Jesus said will always be true: "apart from me you can do nothing" (see John 15:5).

When we embrace this identity as children of the Father we begin to see what prophets and kings desired to see and hear but could not. However, as it turns out, the world resists our efforts to remain in this spiritual childhood. It tries to draw us out into a self-reliance that ultimately turns out to be false, prideful, and unsustainable. In order to resist these temptations to outgrow God we should avail ourselves of all the help he has given us. In particular, on this day when we celebrate Our Lady of the Rosary, we should turn to the one Jesus himself gave us to be our mother.

For the sins of my children I am left desolate,
because they turned from the law of God.

Fear not, my children; call out to God!
He who brought this upon you will remember you.
As your hearts have been disposed to stray from God,
turn now ten times the more to seek him;
For he who has brought disaster upon you
will, in saving you, bring you back enduring joy."


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