DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
Saint Luke 10:16-20 (11/8-11/21) Synaxis of the
Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel
The Joy of the Lord: Saint Luke 10:16-21, especially vs.
21: “In that hour Jesus rejoiced
in the Spirit, and said, ‘I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
that You have hidden these things from the wise and
prudent, and revealed them to babes.
Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in Your
sight.’” When
the Prophet David confessed his sins, he asked for mercy and cleansing, and
“...to hear joy and gladness; the bones that be humbled, they shall
rejoice” (Ps. 50:8). God
desires His servants to be contrite, but most of all to share in His joy.
The Lord Jesus shows us the joy of God, through the mouth
of an earthly master who was settling accounts with his servants. To each faithful servant our Master
says, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few
things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord”
(Mt. 25:21). But understand
precisely what gives God joy: in today’s Gospel, the Lord mentions the
defeat of Satan (Lk. 10:18), the trampling of the
powers of evil (vs. 19), the inscribing of the names of the faithful in the
book of Life (vs. 20), and the disclosure of the truth of God to the humble of
the earth (vs. 21).
Early in His earthly work, Christ appointed Twelve to be
with Him for their training and for extending His work (Lk.
6:13). Later, the Lord
“...appointed Seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His
face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go” (Lk. 10:1). When
the Seventy returned, they joyfully reported their success: “Lord, even
the demons are subject to us in Your Name” (Lk.
10:17). Then the Lord revealed the
greater implication of what was happening.
“...I saw Satan fall...” (vs. 18).
From the sin of Adam, we who are made in God’s image,
in contrast, find ourselves in wretched bondage to sin, Satan, and death. God, however, determines to reverse our
demonic bondage. As
Saint Nikolai of Zhicha describes it: “those
who had been slaves became masters, and those who had been masters became
slaves.” To accomplish
this reversal of our human and spiritual slavery, the God of all spirits
and flesh assumed our very being.
Thus, in the present Gospel passage, we see the Lord joyful
at the first fruits of His Incarnation, at the wonder of it all: the ones who
had been in bondage to Satan became active agents of the Devil’s
defeat! Like the Lord Jesus’
first disciples, we too are called to be victorious agents of the Lord, the joy
of all united to Christ. The power
of Christ to defeat Satan is poured into our hearts and lives at Baptism, and
He continues giving us His Life in the Holy Mysteries. Rise up and join in the defeat of the
evil one!
Having disclosed to the Seventy their ultimate victory, the
Lord highlighted the truth of that which He gives to His People: “Behold,
I give you the authority to trample...over all the power of the enemy, and
nothing shall by any means hurt you” (vs. 19). Hereby, He reminds us that our power is
from Him and ‘not’ of our creation. Victory comes to the faithful through
God Himself as one of us - there is no victory in frail, human strength. Christ is the Victor, and we share His
triumphant joy by struggling together with Him by His grace to grow in Him.
Indeed, the victory we share with God is His. Be joyful, for we do not have to be
‘wise.’ God rejoices in
His victories through ordinary people (vs. 21). “For you see your calling,
brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many
noble, are called. But God has
chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise...” (1
Cor. 1:26,27). Take the grace, knowledge, and
strength we have in Christ Jesus and join in the victory struggle.
I thank Thee, O Lord my God, that Thou hast not rejected
me, a sinner, but hast vouchsafed me to partake of Thine
immaculate and heavenly gifts.
Return to the November Calendar