Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Lectionary: 102

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."

If joy and happiness are not the same thing, they're close enough for our purposes. Saint Luke tells us that, after their first solo flight as missionaries, the disciples returned to Jesus glad, joyful, and elated with the power of the Lord's name. When they invoked the name of Jesus, demons fled, leaving their victims healed, healthy, and restored to their families. 

Saint Luke's sequel, The Acts of the Apostles, will give us many more stories in the same vein. Where Jesus announced the coming of the Kingdom of God. his disciples announced and demonstrated the power of his Name. 

Hearing their stories and sharing their gladness, the Lord exulted with them. "I saw Satan fall like lightning from the sky!" The visionary Saint John of Patmos describe the same scenario:

Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. 

The dragon and its angels fought back,

but they did not prevail and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.

The huge dragon, the ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, who deceived the whole world, was thrown down to earth, and its angels were thrown down with it.

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have salvation and power come,

and the kingdom of our God

and the authority of his Anointed.

I have heard that Vince Lombardi, one of the most successful football coaches, routinely scolded his Green Bay Packers when they won, and consoled them when they lost. The Coach Jesus does both in today's gospel. He rejoices with his team, but he also warns them not to let success go to their heads: 

“Do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven."

We are permitted to rejoice with the Lord in all his victories, but we are not permitted to personalize them; that is, by supposing that I have personally accomplished something. I did nothing but hope, pray, and watch for something wonderful. 

We should never forget that every healing, every parable, every wonderful sign of divine authority -- like walking on water and feeding five thousand -- whether performed by Jesus, one of the seventy-two, or your answered prayer in the past week; each of these signs cost the Son of Mary and Joseph his life. 

Saint John makes that clear in his eleventh chapter. When Jesus called Lazarus out of the grave, the story went immediately to Jerusalem and the Sanhedrin called an emergency meeting. A week later he was crucified. There are consequences to good behavior! It was true then, and it’s still true.

If you or I have done anything, our names are recorded in heaven, and we'll hear about it at that time. Our accomplishments, worth, and standing in God's sight are on that need-to- know list which we might be permitted to see in eternity -- if we're still interested in such irrelevant trivia when that day comes.

We heard the Lord's promise to Jerusalem in today's first reading, from the last chapter of the Book of Isaiah. 

Lo, I will spread prosperity over Jerusalem like a river,

 and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing torrent.

Americans like to congratulate ourselves on our prosperity. Look at how well we have done. Look how we won both wars against the Germans in Europe, and a third war against the Japanese. Look at our first class military, industry, agricultural, medical, and educational industries. We've won every contest; we're number one. Consequently, the wealth of the nations – their resources and their most valuable citizens – came to us like an overflowing torrent.

Many Americans take those triumphs further. Look at what I have accomplished -- my home, my successful family, my good health, my golden years of retirement. 

Many people didn't take kindly to Barack Obama's reminder, "You didn't build all that!" That all the work we do today only contributes to the work of a thousand generations before us. We were given prosperity, security, and power by our ancestors; and we were given the opportunity to build more prosperity and deeper security if we were conscientious, courageous, and committed to hard work. And then we suppose that we, unlike our ancestors, have the right to retire at 62, or 65, or 85 after all we have accomplished. And if anyone fails, it’s their own fault. 

But that sense of entitlement doesn’t jive with the Word of God: 

“Lo, I will spread prosperity over Jerusalem like a river, and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing torrent.

As the American century comes to an end, we have to see what we have not wanted to see all along. There are millions of poor people among us; there are even more who are living very close to poverty. Except for cheap Chinese imports, the wealth of the nations never trickled down to the least among us. Many of our best and brightest citizens learned to read and write in foreign countries. And many of our best and brightest are leaving.

Hearing the last chapter of the Book of Isaiah, the people of Jerusalem could only remember their former wealth and security. The golden age of King David’s royal descendants had passed a long time ago and would never return. Amid the powerful nations of Egypt, Persia, Greece, and Rome their only ally was God. They could hope for prosperity like a river, but could not expect it in the foreseeable future. 

Saint Matthew alluded to that ancient, almost forgotten promise when his magi gave the Holy Child gifts of gold and frankincense. But their gift of myrrh also breathed a life of gathering gloom. The worst was yet to come. 

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have salvation and power come,

and the kingdom of our God

and the authority of his Anointed.

Our salvation comes from the Lord, and not from new technologies or new ideologies. We will not think our way out of environmental change, the migrations of billions, or nuclear war. Our security comes from the Lord, and not from weapons, weapon systems, or weapons of mass destruction. Our wisdom comes from God and not from artificial intelligence. Our prosperity is God’s gift to the faithful, so long as they remain faithful. Not even our virtue begins with us; it is a gift from God who inspires us to speak and act in his name.