Readings: Is. 66:10-14; Gal. 6:14-18; Lk. 10: 1-12, 17-20.
Christ
has given us the Power.
“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”
(Lk. 10:20). This was the response of
Jesus to the seventy-two on their return from their mission in today’s Gospel.
He reminded them that the power to succeed was given to them from above. They
should rejoice not because of their accomplishments but because it pleased the
Father to count them among his chosen ones. Whatever we are, whoever we are,
and whatever we have achieved is not our own making but a gift from God above.
Today, Jesus reminds us
that we are called to share his power. He has entrusted this power to us. The
power to give peace to the world: “Into whatever house you enter, first say,
‘Peace to this household’” (Lk . 10:8). Amid our woes and vicissitude, we are
empowered to bring peace, succor, harmony, concord, sympathy, and empathy to
the world. The power that Christ has gifted us with is enormous indeed. We are
empowered to bring goodness to the world, offer forgiveness to our enemies,
bring the bread of life to those spiritually weak, the real bread to the
hungry, words of consolation to weary hearts, and healing to the sick.
But how can we be so
empowered and yet feel so powerless? How can we be entrusted with so much while
we feel so helpless? Little wonder we are easily intimidated by the known and
the unknown forces, for we do not know and find it challenging to recognize our
power. Could it be that we doubt the source of our power? The Sacrament of
Baptism empowers us to become God’s adopted children and his ambassadors. The
Holy Eucharist empowers us to feed the hungry with the bread of life. The
Sacrament of Confirmation confers on us the right to be God’s messengers of
truth and defenders of the faith to the point of shedding our blood. In the
Sacrament of Penance, we are given the power to share in God's forgiving power,
acknowledge our sins, confess them, and receive God’s mercy and forgiveness.
“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if
you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld” (Jn. 20:23). The
Sacrament of Holy Orders confers on the ministerial priesthood the power to change
ordinary bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ through the process
of transubstantiation. Through the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony, couples are
empowered and invited to experience the union and bliss of the Blessed Trinity,
bringing forth a family of love, justice, and peace in the world. Finally, the
Sacrament of the Sick prepares us to recover and heal from sickness, and to be
admitted into the presence of God our Father, to behold His beatific vision.
“Is anyone among you sick? He should summon the presbyters of the church, and
they should pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord, and
the prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up.
If he has committed any sins, he will be forgiven” (James 5:14-15). Through the
power of preaching the Word, “Even the devils are subject to us because of your
name” (Lk. 10:17). There is power in the name of Jesus.
The power Christ gives us
is not military power wrought by the brute force of a gun or political power
achieved through campaigns and demagoguery, lies and false promises to garner
votes and be elected into office; neither is it authoritative power of dominance
nor divide and rule strategy that seeks to dominate and suppress our collective
will; it is the power of love, humility, and service. It is the power of
limitation and poverty for the sake of the kingdom that gives up earthly and
worldly things in pursuit of heavenly realities. “Behold, I am sending you like
lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one
along the way” (Lk. 10:3). This power of freedom does not tolerate delays and
encumbrances with material acquisitions: they are hindrances to the spread of
the Gospel. To be so empowered means dying to self, and so become a new
creature (Gal. 6:15). It is only those who enjoy a new mode of existence of
love brought about by the cross of Christ who himself “did not come to be
served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mt. 20:28)
who are so empowered; and they must always rejoice and be happy. Our power, so
to speak, comes from the freedom of the Spirit in union with Christ. Dying to ourselves empowers us to fight our
demons, conquer our insatiable desire for earthly power, and overcome our
personal enemies, such as avarice, ambition, envy, anger, and pride. We have
the promise of Jesus to accomplish this: “I have given you the power to tread
underfoot serpents and scorpions and the whole strength of the enemy” (Lk .
10:19-20). Why are we afraid of using the power freely given to us by Christ to
dominate the kingdom of the evil one?
On their return, the disciples are delighted at their success, but Jesus counsels them to rejoice, because their names were written in heaven. Rejoicing in our success is a testament to personal glory and achievement. I can do nothing on my own, but “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). We are to rejoice, like the children of Israel, in the first reading, because of what God has done in and through us. Let us pray at this Mass for the spirit and freedom to give God all the glory. May we respond to his call to build the kingdom of peace and justice in the world, for “The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Lk . 4:18-19). With Psalm 66, let us pray: “Shout joyfully to God, all the earth, sing praise to the glory of his name, and proclaim his glorious praise. Say to God, “How tremendous are your deeds!
Rev.
Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP
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