Commentary on the Gospel of
The disciples return gloating over the miraculous that accompanied their preaching in the Name of Jesus! Jesus confirms what they had witnessed and the power of his name; but cautions them about not delighting too much on the powers they were given and the miracles that resulted: rather, they were to rejoice in the free gift of redemption Christ has offered them.
How many spiritual leaders and healers have fallen along the way because, at some point, they become totally drunk on their own spiritual power and the mighty deeds that happened in their ministry! Gradually they forget that God works such miracles through them not because they are holier and more deserving than others, but because God simply chose them to be His instruments! And at the end of it all, they confuse the light that shone through them as the light that shone from them. Sadly, such leaders do perish, and great is their fall!
Rejoice, because you have been redeemed despite yourself. And share that joy of redemption with one another. Evangelization, as David Bosch puts it, is “one beggar telling another beggar where to find food.”
Paulson Veliyannoor, CMF - frpaulson@gmail.com
