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Believe In Yourself Or Believe In God

Do you believe in yourself or believe in God? That is an important question for us to answer, especially as American Catholics awash in a culture that idolizes the self. Now, there is nothing wrong per se with having self confidence provided one remembers what the source of that confidence is, “I can do all things in him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13) Our talents, our abilities are all a free gift from God, not from ourselves. As we unpack today’s Gospel let us take a moment to ponder our humility in the face of such a gift.

The Return of the Seventy & Jesus Rejoices

The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will. All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Then turning to the disciples he said privately, “Blessed are the eyes which see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” Luke 10 : 17-24

Scriptural Analysis

The return of the seventy is presented in the scriptures without any break. Given their prospect for rejection it would have been anticipated for them to return dejected but instead they returned full of joy. The reason for their joy was their success at driving out demons in the name of Jesus. It is logical to assume Jesus gave them the power to drive out demons and cure diseases just as he had the twelve at the start of chapter nine. Jesus confirms their success in driving out demons stating that he had seen Satan fall. This is the first time Luke uses the word Satan for the chief of the demons previously using the more generic devil. This image of Satan falling is a reference to Isaiah: “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!” (14:12) Through their mission they are helping contributed to the downfall of the devil. In these words Jesus anticipates the final victory over Satan.

Therefore, the disciples have nothing to fear as they have the ability to tread on serpents and scorpions, borrowing for Deuteronomy, “who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty rock.” (8:15). God led the Israelites through harm just as Jesus is leading the disciples through lasting harm. Those who have ministered in his name have their names written in heaven: a reference to the book of life seen in Revelation: “He who conquers shall be clad thus in white garments, and I will not blot his name out of the book of life.” (3:5)

Jesus then turns to address the Father: the events of their mission still in his thoughts. Jesus is rejoicing, exulting in the Holy Spirit. The expression used here is the same as Mary at the beginning of the Magnificat. His prayer to God takes the forms of a Jewish Thanksgiving prayer. He addresses God as Father which is not something that would have been typical in the Old Testament.

The reason for the praise is the reversal of fortune that God is working. The mission of the disciples was carried out by humble souls: not the learned and wise men of the time. Yet God revealed the mysteries of the kingdom to them. This was prophesied by Isaiah, “and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hid.” (29:14)

Jesus then discusses the relationship between he in the father. He notes that all authority had been given to him. He also reflects upon his relationship as Son to the Father. Lastly, as Son, Jesus is the on who reveals the Father to those he wishes to: his disciples. Thus the mission he sent them on was all about making known to them the Father’s plan for salvation. Having been part of this Jesus expresses the unique privilege that the disciples have been given in knowing this.

Daily Application

They key to understanding how today’s passage applies to our lives, lies in this excerpt, “thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes.” What was revealed into today’s Gospel was hidden from the learned and the wise. Before you take a lighter to all of your books, it is important to understand what Jesus is saying in these words.

Being educated and being wise is not in and of itself a bad thing. Jesus most certainly knew the scriptures and he could read. The challenge is that the educated often become prideful thinking they know everything. They believe that they have all of the answers. They don’t humble themselves before their fellow man and before God. They begin to believe that they are the source of their own success and status. They being to forget that God is the author of all good and any skills or talents they have, are a gift from God. The wisdom and knowledge that they have is but a drop compared with he wisdom and knowledge of God. In their arrogance, they begin to turn from the Lord.

These people become closed minded: incapable of seeing the very mystery that is right in front of them. Consider the Pharisees of Jesus’s time. These men knew the scriptures inside and out. They could probably recite most of them from memory. They, more than anyone else, should have recognized Jesus as the fulfillment of the scriptures. Yet they failed to see him. They failed because they had read the scriptures a certain way and thought their way was correct. They become so certain in their knowledge that it blinded them from being able to see God standing in their midsts. The ones who accepted Jesus were those not blinded by their arrogance.

Now compare that to a child who lacks such knowledge in wisdom. Their eyes are able to see the great mystery because they have not been closed off by their own arrogance and knowledge. They can recognize the mystery in front of them and appreciate it as such. They are humble not thinking they they know it all. Thus if we want to truly know God, we have to become like a child. We have to set aside our pride and humble ourselves to allow God too come to us as he sees fit.

Are we blind? Have we become so confident in our knowledge, in modern technology, in science, that we think we can figure it all out? Do we forget that all knowledge comes from God not from us? Have we become incapable of humbling ourselves, of being childlike. Do we believe in ourselves or in God?

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