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

 

 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, as He has begun the journey toward Jerusalem, 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 haven, 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."   My study Bible comments that I saw Satan fall is a description of an event that took place before the creation of the world.  It says that five times Satan set his will against God (Isaiah 14:12-15; see also Revelation 12:7-12).  In the journey of the Seventy, and in the ongoing mission of the Church, this spiritual reality becomes more fully manifest in the world.  Serpents and scorpions are figurative images of devils and demons, included in the phrase the power of the enemy.  Note also that Jesus tells the disciples they are not to rejoice because of the spiritual power which He has shared with them, but because their 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."  My study Bible explains that babes refers to people of simple faith and open hearts.  See also Luke 18:15-17, in which Jesus says, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God."  The "babes" become the standard by which adults receive the kingdom; that is, those who are not arrogant but guileless, and open to discipleship and learning.

 

What is a little child like?  What are "babes," as Jesus describes them?   In a comment on the passage in Luke 18 mentioned above, Theophylact writes, "A little child is not arrogant, he does not despise anyone, he is innocent and guileless.  He does not inflate himself in the presence of important people, nor withdraw from those in sorrows.  Instead, he lives in complete simplicity."  This kind of simplicity is not about being a "simple person" in the colloquial expression meant to imply that one's acumen is limited.  This is a kind of simplicity that is suggestion in Jesus' prescription for the conduct of the disciples, given in yesterday's reading, as He sent out the Seventy on their mission.  He sent them out, He said first of all, "as lambs among wolves."  They were to "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."  This is a command given for behavior that we could call "simple."  They were not to be ostentatious, carry nothing not necessary for the journey, humble enough to eat what was put before them, offered by the householders who would receive them, and offering blessings of peace.  This is a description of the behavior of "simple" people who are focused on the one thing necessary, the mission they're on.  It is a description that includes humility, an openness to learning, and maybe most especially, a full reliance on God's power in that mission.  Note that the power of their blessing of peace, its retraction from those who cannot accept it, rests solely with God.  These "simple" people sent on a mission are entirely aware that the power rests with God, the power of their efforts is reliant upon God.  So simplicity is in how we approach life, how we refuse complications that come from what we might call (in popular language) ego, a need for ostentation.  We might note, also, that this simple behavior includes kindness and graciousness.   From the time of the disciples' dispute about who would be greatest in the kingdom (in Saturday's reading), Jesus has been training the disciples on the need for an attitude of service and humility that must characterize stewardship of His kingdom, and His instructions with which He sent out the Seventy, and this gracious way in which He receives them on their return teach the same.  Upon their expression of the surprising spiritual power in their ministry, Christ enforces what their focus should be, secondary to power and authority:  "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."  After expressing gratitude to the Father that "You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes," Jesus then says privately to the disciples, "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."   The great figures of history, both prophets and kings, aspired to the places these disciples now occupy for their places, their mission, and their experience of the kingdom of God.  It is a reassurance  to them of the power of this kind of simplicity, the openness to the work and words of God, the capacity to learn, to be taught, and to be transfigured in the light of Christ.  This can only come through the simplicity and humility that keeps us in the place where we are ready to learn from God; it cannot be achieved through arrogance.  Highly poignantly, St. Paul's teaching on love also describes the character of such babes.  "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;  does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).  Let us endeavor to be the "babes" Christ calls us to be, those who are continually surprised by God.