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 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. For whoever is not against us is for us.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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One of the tortures of jealousy is the fact that it can never turn its eye away from the thing that pains it.
Such is the case in today’s Gospel.
John is jealous. An anonymous exorcist has crept into his territory. Christ gave him and the other Apostles the authority to cast out demons. But now it seems that power is spreading beyond the Apostles.
“Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.”
Notice, John says, “he does not follow us,” as opposed to, “he does not follow you.”
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We don’t know who this person is, perhaps a listener among the crowds who once heard Jesus preach. Perhaps someone who was previously healed by the Lord. Someone who touched the tassel of his cloak.
However it happened, faith made its way into this person’s heart and now they have a good deed to prove it.
The Apostles should rejoice! Yet they’re jealous.
“Do not prevent him,” Jesus says.
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How often do you think the Lord would repeat this command if he walked into a church, an office, or a circle of friends?
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Like the Apostles, we can all succumb to jealousy, to being territorial, to claiming that a particular role is “mine,” or “ours” without being open to new people.
But Christ is inclusive. “Do not prevent them,” he says.
My son, when you come to serve the LORD, stand in justice and fear, prepare yourself for trials. Be sincere of heart and steadfast, incline your ear and receive the word of understanding, undisturbed in time of adversity. Wait on God, with patience, cling to him, forsake him not; thus will you be wise in all your ways. Accept whatever befalls you, when sorrowful, be steadfast, and in crushing misfortune be patient; For in fire gold and silver are tested, and worthy people in the crucible of humiliation. Trust God and God will help you; trust in him, and he will direct your way; keep his fear and grow old therein.
You who fear the LORD, wait for his mercy, turn not away lest you fall. You who fear the LORD, trust him, and your reward will not be lost. You who fear the LORD, hope for good things, for lasting joy and mercy. You who fear the LORD, love him, and your hearts will be enlightened. Study the generations long past and understand; has anyone hoped in the LORD and been disappointed? Has anyone persevered in his commandments and been forsaken? has anyone called upon him and been rebuffed? Compassionate and merciful is the LORD; he forgives sins, he saves in time of trouble and he is a protector to all who seek him in truth.
The Word of the Lord.
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Folded inside the back page of my holy hour journal, is the text of our first reading from the Book of Sirach.
Sirach was written about two hundred years before the birth of Jesus, and is a compilation of Jewish wisdom for all who, in Sirach’s words, desire to, “serve the LORD.”
Ideally, one would spend long hours meditating on his words of wisdom, but I’ll repeat a few lines in the hope that a word or line might speak to you.
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When we seek to serve the Lord, Sirach says:
Prepare yourself for trials.
Be sincere… and receive the word of understanding.
Remain undisturbed in time of adversity.
Wait on God, with patience, cling to him, forsake him not.
Accept whatever befalls you.
In crushing misfortune be patient.’
Above all:
Trust God and God will help you; trust in him, and he will direct your way.
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In the silence of your own prayer, return to these words. Perhaps you, too, will fold them inside your journal and learn them until you begin to live them.
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Image credits: (1) Medium (2) Hillspring Church (3) Covenant House New Orleans
As Jesus came down from the mountain with Peter, James, John and approached the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and scribes arguing with them. Immediately on seeing him, the whole crowd was utterly amazed. They ran up to him and greeted him. He asked them, “What are you arguing about with them?” Someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I have brought to you my son possessed by a mute spirit. Wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive it out, but they were unable to do so.” He said to them in reply, “O faithless generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring him to me.” They brought the boy to him. And when he saw him, the spirit immediately threw the boy into convulsions. As he fell to the ground, he began to roll around and foam at the mouth. Then he questioned his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” He replied, “Since childhood. It has often thrown him into fire and into water to kill him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.” Jesus said to him, “‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.” Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!” Jesus, on seeing a crowd rapidly gathering, rebuked the unclean spirit and said to it, “Mute and deaf spirit, I command you: come out of him and never enter him again!” Shouting and throwing the boy into convulsions, it came out. He became like a corpse, which caused many to say, “He is dead!” But Jesus took him by the hand, raised him, and he stood up. When he entered the house, his disciples asked him in private, “Why could we not drive the spirit out?” He said to them, “This kind can only come out through prayer.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Jesus’ divine nature is affirmed by his heavenly Father twice in Mark’s Gospel.
First, at his baptism, when the heavens are rent open, the Spirit descends in the form of a dove, and the Father proclaims, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
The second affirmation comes at the Transfiguration, when Jesus’ body becomes dazzling white as he speaks with the Father, who then makes the same declaration to Peter, James, and John, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”
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After each divine affirmation, Jesus is confronted by evil.
After his baptism, he’s sent into the desert where he’s tempted by Satan for forty days and forty nights.
Now we find him in today’s Gospel after the Transfiguration. As Jesus descends the mountain with Peter, James, and John, he finds his other disciples arguing with the crowds over their inability to cast out an unclean spirit.
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This is a test for Jesus in two ways.
First, he must confront the evil that’s held this poor boy captive because his disciples are unable to. At the sound of his voice, Christ sends the spirit out.
But the greater evil here is the lack of the disciples’ faith, compounded by the crowds. The Lord is nearing Jerusalem. He has openly predicted his Passion and death and has already given his disciples authority over unclean spirits.
Yet the second Jesus steps away from them to pray with his inner circle, they become spiritually inept.
It’s a scary thought for Jesus. Is this how the disciples will be once he returns to his Father and hands over all of his authority?
“O faithfulness generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you?” he moans. “This kind (of evil) can only come out through prayer.”
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So, it is with us.
There are many things the Lord wishes to do for us and through us. But before he can perform any “mighty deed,” we must believe in his power to save.
So, how might we demonstrate our love for him today?
