Word to the Wise
Saturday, October 3, 2009 - Saturday in the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time
[Baruch 4:5-12, 27-29 and Luke 10:17-24]The seventy two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name."......"Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven."
Those who lead retreats for high school students and college students are familiar with the phenomenon that occurs after a successful retreat: there's a waiting list to be on the Retreat Team next time! Those on that list come forward for a number of reasons. First of all, they have experienced the impact of the ministry of the Retreat Team and want to be able to do the same thing! They also note the closeness that develops amongst the Team Members and want to experience that, too. There is, of course, the "shadow side" of this ambition which has to do with the notion of power and elite status! This is what Jesus is warning the seventy-two about! Centuries later, Lord Acton, a Catholic layperson, would put it in familiar terms: "Power tends to corrupt! Absolute power corrupts absolutely!" The disciples learn that making the demons do what the disciples command in the name of Jesus can be a thrilling experience! But that is not the reason for the power that they exercise! Ministry can be a very satisfying experience just as any other professional experiences with a job well done. In the case of ministry, the "job well done" has to do with the spiritual wellbeing of others! The stakes are very high! In our modern times, one might wonder what "screening" Jesus used in calling the "further seventy-two!" After all, the Twelve were quite a mix of good and bad, and some of them had a very elitist notion of being in that privileged group! Ministry is ultimately the experience of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples, healing the sick, dealing with the various demons that destroy lives, standing prophetically against any destructive authority whose actions and policies are contrary to the gospel. It is not power OVER but power FOR and WITH. The satisfaction of having an impact on the lives of others can be quickly replaced by the frustration of an indifferent culture or retreat group! The "team" and its "wannabes" have to learn the satisfaction not of changing the lives of other people but changing their own lives to "rejoice because your names are written in heaven." AMEN
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