At that time, John said to Jesus,
"Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,
and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us."
Jesus had only just told them that the one that wished to be first would need to become the last of all and the servant of all. And yet here the disciples were already taking issue with someone because he was not their follower. We note that the primary concern was not whether or not this exorcist was a follower of Jesus but rather whether he was a follower of the disciples. To some extent, since the disciples were being prepared as leaders in the messianic kingdom Jesus was establishing, it was natural for them to want to keep a tight grasp on authority.
Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him.
There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name
who can at the same time speak ill of me.
Jesus, however, was not concerned that this man was not a rank and file follower of the disciples. The important part was that the genuine motivation and power behind the mighty deed was the name of Jesus himself. Obviously it was possible to misuse this name in a way that implied one did not really know Jesus (see Matthew 7:21-23). But when it was used sincerely it became a basis of unity for the Church from the bottom up. Sincerity and unity could not be imposed top down by hierarchy, although the hierarchy could rightfully rule out things inconsistent with the name of Jesus. But it was possible for those in the hierarchy to fail to notice much genuine good happening in the world outside. There was always the temptation for leaders to think they had foreseen all the possibilities of genuine good and therefore reject anything that deviated from their model. What Jesus was really worried about was that they would become more obsessed with their own ways than his way, their own methods and practical prescriptions. They would then imagine that the programs they began could do no wrong well those of others would be of lesser value or none at all.
Arguably, the hierarchy in our day is actually quite good at recognizing goods within the mission fields of the world. This is even when those goods seem to appear from the bottom up. We can see this in the cautious acceptance of the new ecclesial movements in past decades as an example. But what about us? How are we at recognizing what Jesus is doing beyond the bounds of our preconceptions and expectations? Do we automatically rule out anything just because we haven't seen it before, or because it is at odds with our own individual preferences? We should be careful not to ignore genuine good which may benefit from our own cooperation since "whoever is not against us is for us". On the other hand, do we, by contrast, accept anything at all, naively neglecting to test it and see if it truly honors the name of Jesus?
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. (see First John 4:1-3).
The criteria for whether or not something has value is not how we feel about it, not the subjective response it elicits. It isn't even so much about our own judgments or reasoning insofar as we tend to limit ourselves to those ideas with which with have some affinity. The criteria is rather about the name of Jesus and whether the possible good we perceive has legitimate potential value for the building up of his kingdom. Clearly, casting out a demon has such a value. Such actions are not of the devil, since a house divided cannot stand (see Mark 3:25). And they go further, since they do not leave the formerly possessed man empty, but provide a relationship with Jesus to fill the space vacated by the powers of darkness.
Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him if a great millstone
were put around his neck
and he were thrown into the sea.
It is precisely because the good to be found in the name of Jesus is so good that we shouldn't treat sin lightly. It is because of the greatness of the good they threaten that those who put the possibility of relationship with Jesus at risk for others are at particular risk themselves. There is therefore a great need to avoid sin and especially being the cause of scandal for others. Part of the way we can accomplish this is to not dally with sin and to show it no quarter in our own lives. We should act directly an immediately to "cut it off" before it grows to a level where it is out of control and unmanageable. To be clear, this may involve some pain. It may involve avoiding circumstances that are not in themselves inherently bad but which we know to be occasions of sin for us. If we insist on pursuing such desires that cannot satisfy the end result may be that we eventually find such unquenchable fire to be our whole world in Gehenna.
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!"
What if the Lord was acting and present in the world in more ways than those which are obvious and for which we already give him credit? Wouldn't it be hopeful? And yet we know that the desire of Moses, that all be prophets, was also God's own desire, and one which he promised by the prophet Joel to fulfill in the age of the Church:
And it shall come to pass afterward,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
Even on the male and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit (see Joel 2:28-29).
No comments:
Post a Comment