The
seventy-two returned rejoicing, and said,
"Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name."
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. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven."
"Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name."
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. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven."
Luke
10:17-20
The
passage of today’s reading that usually gets the most attention is the part in
which Jesus sends seventy-two of his disciples out to evangelize two by two in voluntary
poverty. I explored that passage in my June
3, 2016 blog entry. Today, I’d like to concentrate on the end of the reading.
Jesus
tells his disciplines not to be happy about their reported ability to perform
miracles, but to rejoice that God has loving concern for them. Faith is not about magical intervention by God
to save us from misfortune or to make us magically more moral than others. Faith is about acknowledging that our names
are written in heaven.
Photo: Cat's Eye Nebula