Happy are the eyes that see what you see
During their mission, the seventy-two disciples made a discovery about the power in Jesus’ name. They were amazed to discover that devils freed when commanded in the name of Jesus. When they came back, they regarded their Master in a new light as if they were seeing him for the first time.
Jesus confirmed their amazement by telling them something that happened outside time when Satan rebelled and was cast out of heaven. After that rebellion he could not stand anymore in the presence of God, and Jesus watched him leave heaven like lightening. What happened then continues to happen; in the presence of God, Satan must free. This happens when Jesus is present in person, or when he is present in his disciples who believe in him and use his powerful name.
Jesus then warns the disciples not to rejoice over this, for that could become a point of re-entry of Satan, through pride, but rather to rejoice because their names are written in heaven.
He goes on to tell the disciples another amazing fact about themselves. They do not know how blessed they are to have Jesus. God has revealed to them what he hid from the learned the clever. People study and get high degrees, even in the scriptures, without discovering Jesus. They know about him; they don’t know him. People can be great in the eyes of the world, yet without Jesus they remain poor. Even prophets and kings of the past longed to have Jesus, but they never did because his time had not yet come.
We live in his time. In Baptism we chose a wonderful vocation, of belonging to Christ and of denying Satan and all that relates to him. Some are even consecrated to Jesus in a special way. True wisdom entails in knowing and treasuring Whom we have chosen, for with him we have everything, and without him we are nothing.
