Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,
and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.
The disciples showed that they had something of the Pharisaical spirit within them. There was someone doing good, not evil, saving life and not destroying it. But the disciples were upset because it was done without their official seal of approval. Yes, they were one day going to sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes. But at this stage we know they did not yet appreciate the true meaning of authority and honor. They wanted greatness for themselves. It was this desire which was being subverted by good deeds they had not officially ordered. The disciples didn't care so much that someone had discovered the name of Jesus as that they themselves were not included in the chain of honor. It was not their sense of propriety that was wounded but rather their pride. Later, in the early Church we read of better ways to handle a disciple that whose formation was still lacking.
He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately (see Acts 18:25-26).
It seems the disciples would have prevented this man from driving out demons rather than explain more accurately the way of God to him, in order to avoid losing their own perceived entitlement to being honored by him. Jesus in fact had to tell them, "Do not prevent him". It was not as though the name of Jesus was a magical incantation that would work without any relation to the person of Jesus himself. If someone was able to perform a mighty deed in the name of Jesus it meant that there was some real and genuine connection to Jesus in the heart of that person. There was simply no way that they were hostile or opposed to him. And so the disciples were meant to avail themselves of the fact that the individual was in fact for them and not against them. Their task wasn't about themselves, or to ensure that the man ultimately followed them. They were instead, as leaders, meant to serve him, helping him to follow the way of Jesus more accurately. Their involvement in his life and ministry was supposed to be primarily a blessing for him and for Jesus rather than themselves.
For whoever is not against us is for us.
Even though most of us aren't in leadership roles we sometimes still act like the disciples and dismiss those who don't do things our way, who use different methods, or who prefer different saints or devotions. We tend to imagine that our ways are so good that everyone should use them. But this implies a lot about how we think other people ought to submit to our judgment. We should instead allow a wide freedom for the legitimate ways others might wish to follow Jesus even if we don't immediately understand them. Obviously there are things which are genuinely not helpful, which really cannot be reconciled with following Jesus. And in these cases it does help to intervene to ensure, not to ensure that others follow us, but that they follow him. For our part, we should maintain the humility recommended by James.
You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears.
Instead you should say,
"If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that."
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