St. Luke 10:16-21
The Lord said to his disciples, “He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” 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 you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.”
The seventy disciples return to Jesus full of joy. “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” We can understand their excitement. They have seen suffering relieved and people set free. They have discovered that the name of Jesus carries an authority they could never possess on their own. Jesus receives their joy, but He also teaches them where their deepest joy must rest. St. Cyril helps us hear that lesson by showing us how Christ teaches His disciples to rejoice.
1. Whatever God gives us is meant to lead people to Christ.
St. Cyril says that the disciples received their authority so “that Christ might be glorified by their means.” That gives us a question to ask about every gift we have: Where does this lead the people around me?
We may have a gift for teaching, organizing, singing, encouraging, or helping someone through a difficult day. We may have resources to share or time to give. Whatever the gift, its purpose surely reaches far beyond our own recognition.
It is easy to begin by wanting to serve and gradually become concerned about whether anyone notices. We start keeping track of who thanked us, whose name appeared, whose contribution received attention. Christ calls us back to the person who needs our love. If someone leaves an encounter with us more able to trust Him, our gift has served its purpose—even if our name is forgotten.
2. Christ’s victory gives us courage to face evil.
St. Cyril says that those who serve the divine word should be “very hearty and courageous,” because they have “Christ to help them.”
There is much that can make us afraid today. We see cruelty rewarded, lies repeated, families divided, and people worn down by suffering. Within ourselves, we encounter sins we thought we had overcome or are growing weary of struggling with.
When Jesus says, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven,” He reveals whose authority is greater. St. Cyril understands this as the overthrow of the enemy’s power through the coming of Christ.
We still have a struggle before us. Faithful people still suffer. But we can enter that struggle trusting the Lord who sends us. Christ’s promise gives us courage even in suffering, because the enemy cannot separate us from Him against our will.
We can tell the truth when a lie would be convenient. We can seek reconciliation when resentment feels safer. We can ask for help with a sin we have been hiding or continue to ask for help for sins we have not yet overcome. We can keep praying for someone when we cannot yet see a change.
Our courage rests in Christ’s faithfulness. We do not have to know how everything will turn out before we take the next faithful step. Sometimes that step is simply to pray again, ask forgiveness, or keep doing the good in front of us while trusting God with what we cannot yet see.
3. Spiritual success needs the protection of humility.
St. Cyril warns that delight in extraordinary gifts can produce “the desire also of vainglory,” whose close companion is pride.
The disciples have done something good. Yet even a good work can become an occasion for self-importance and vainglory.
That should make us attentive to our hearts. We can become proud of our service, our theological knowledge, our years in the Church, even our reputation for humility. We can begin to treat another person’s weakness as evidence of our own strength.
In his homily on this, St. Cyril compares Christ to a gardener who pulls up a thorn before it takes deep root. That is what the Lord is doing when He corrects the disciples. He is caring for them.
We need that care too. Sometimes it comes through being overlooked. Sometimes through a correction we would rather not hear. Sometimes through discovering that someone else can do the work just as well.
At those moments, we can ask: Can I still give thanks? Can I rejoice that someone was helped, even when someone else receives the credit.
4. Our deepest joy is that we belong to God.
Jesus says, “Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
St. Cyril explains that in saying this, “Christ raises them to something greater.”
The disciples are rejoicing in what they have accomplished, but Christ directs them to look instead at what they have received from Him.
We spend much of life measuring ourselves. Have I achieved enough? Have I been useful enough? Do people respect me? Even our spiritual lives can become another list of accomplishments and failures.
Then illness comes, or age changes what we can do. A responsibility passes to someone else. Or perhaps we pray and see no visible result. If our joy depends entirely on being effective, those seasons can leave us feeling worthless.
But in all these situations, the Lord still knows our names.
The person who can no longer organize the parish meal is still precious to Him. The caregiver whose work goes unseen is known to Him. The person who returns to confession ashamed of the same old sin is being called again into His mercy.
We serve because we belong to Christ. And when our strength grows small, His constant and undiminished love remains the ground of our hope.
5. We receive God’s wisdom with a teachable heart.
Jesus rejoices that the Father has revealed these things to babes. St. Cyril describes them as people with “an innocent and guileless mind.”
St. Cyril is speaking about the disposition of the heart. He urges us to study Scripture eagerly. Learning bears fruit when we remain humble enough to receive instruction and allow what we learn to change us.
Today we can carry a world of information in our pockets and still find it difficult to listen and learn. We can have an answer ready before another person has finished speaking. And when we are so busy preparing our answer, we may miss what we need to hear.
The Gospel invites us to approach God with open hands.
“Lord, help me understand.”
“Lord, show me where I need to repent.”
“Lord, teach me how to know and love this person.”
And notice what makes Jesus rejoice. St. Cyril says that He finds joy “in the conversion of those that were in error, in the enlightenment of those that were in darkness.”
Christ invites us to share His joy whenever a person comes home, a heart opens, or someone discovers that forgiveness is possible.
So let us bring Him our gifts, asking that they may lead others to Him. Let us face our struggles with courage and receive correction with humility. And let us remember, through fruitful days and difficult ones alike, the joy He sets before us:
“Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”