I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven

 Then 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 give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."

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.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it." 

- Luke 10:17-24

Yesterday we read that 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.  Then He said to them, "The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.  Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.  Carry neither money bag, knapsack, nor sandals; and greet no one along the road.  But whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house.'  And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you.  And remain in the same house, eating and drinking such things as they give, for the laborer is worthy of his wages.  Do not go from house to house.  Whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you.  And heal the sick there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.'  But whatever city you enter, and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 'The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you.  Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.'  But I say to you that it will be more tolerable in that Day for Sodom than for that city.  Woe to you, Chorazin!  Woe to you, Bethsaida!  For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.  But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.  And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades.  He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me."

Then 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 give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."   The seventy apostles return with joy.  Jesus takes joy in the sharing of his holy power with human beings, those who are laborers for the harvest.  Once again, what we are told by the Gospel is about a type of hidden warfare going on; in Christ's mission into the world, He enlists human beings as participants in this battle, which is not like worldly battle but one of hearts and minds, and based in love.  My study bible says that the reference, I saw Satan fall, is a description of an event that took place before the creation of the world.  Five times Satan set his will against God (Isaiah 14:12-15; see also Revelation 12:7-12).  Serpents and scorpions are allegorical images of the demonic.

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.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."   Jesus continues to rejoice over the sharing of holy power with human beings, the revelation possible for us, and our participation in the life of the Kingdom He offers.   This is a sharing in the life given from the Father to the Son and in turn to those human beings who may share in and understand the revelation given to us.  It is all about the working of grace in the world.  My study bible says that babes are people of simple faith and open hearts (see 18:15-17).

How can we understand the joy of Jesus?  His newest apostolic mission, these Seventy whom He has recently appointed (see yesterday's reading, above), return with joy, as the holy power invested in them by Jesus has come to fruition they have experienced and seen for themselves.  Jesus tells them nevertheless, not to rejoice over such power, but that their names are written in heaven.  That is, because they share in the joy of heaven, as members of the Kingdom.   Jesus alludes to a battle which my study bible suggests has taken place before the creation of the world.  Nevertheless, its effects are seen and felt, and continue, with human beings at the center of the battleground.  And we are invited to participate in this battle.  I wonder if we today can calculate the reality which is revealed here and given to us in the words of Christ and in the actions and appointment of the Seventy.   We don't always generally see or measure these effects, from a modern perspective, in the terms that Christ names.  But we can look around at our world and most clearly see all types of evil effects.  The demonic that makes its presence known through Scripture functions to create varieties of affliction, hardship, pain, hostility, and aggression toward human beings.  Christ, by contrast, shares His power in grace, through faith, with the ultimate boundary respected as the free will of human beings.  He offers us participation and membership in a Kingdom, in which not only He but also God the Father become a part of our own reality, our identities in this shared participation, an ongoing energy present within us and among us.  We can look around at the world and see the things that typify demonic behavior in the Gospels:  abuse, affliction, aggression, hostility, hatred, coercion, manipulation, a total lack of respect for the basic integrity that free will gives to a human soul as endowed by Creator.  But it's not enough to wonder at the presence of evil.  What is important to understand through the Gospels is precisely what Jesus teaches His apostles to rejoice over:  that their names are written in heaven.  That is, that they may be participants in this Kingdom through faith, that they may serve God through faith in Christ -- that they may live through His love, grace, and truth.  This remains the pillar and cornerstone of our understanding of the battleground.  It's not about the things that we see with a limited perception of events in our world.  It is rather about finding that internal pole of faith, finding our own participation in this living grace and God's energies at work in the world, and remaining within the conditions of discipleship Christ has taught us.  This is a difficult task, but one nevertheless that remains with us 2,000 years after Jesus' ministry and teachings He's given us, which remain true and living for us.  Let us understand that He still sends us out as sheep in the midst of wolves, with instructions on how to live as those sheep who belong to Him.  His language and teachings are those of humility, of truth, of strength, and hope, and perseverance.  St. Paul instructs us in the fruits of the spirit, which remain hallmarks of our participation in that Kingdom and in His grace.  Can we live them for ourselves?  Let us remember this battle was won long ago, but that in real time, in our time, Christ invites us in to participate His way.  The choice lives within us, day by day.