In our gospel today, we read that the 72 disciples returned from their mission of preaching the gospel, curing the sick, and casting out demons REJOICING. They said — “Lord! Even the demons are subject to us because of your name!”

The Greek word used here for “rejoicing” is worth breaking down. 

The specific term used is “agalliao” (a-gall-ee-ow) and it is meant to convey THE most intense form of rejoicing possible. It’s an emotional spilling over — a cutting loose — literally a “jumping for joy.”

So… that’s what the disciples were doing when they came from their mission trip. They were LOSING IT… They came back PUMPED UP, man! They were so happy, so EXCITED to see the Kingdom of God visibly, tangibly happening right in front of them through their hands… It was REALLY ACTUALLY happening!

And Jesus responds: “Do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

Now, if it ended there… if that was all there was to this encounter, we could be left with the impression that Jesus didn’t really want the 72 disciples rejoicing so much at what they saw happening before their very eyes. That he kind of wanted to dampen their enthusiasm a bit… settle them down…

“Ok guys, calm down… it’s not that big of a deal actually. Don’t get too excited about the healings and the exorcisms. It’s not important actually…focus on the stuff that’s most essential, most ordinary… yada yada yada…”

But, if you bother to keep reading, that’s actually NOT the impression Sacred Scripture gives us AT ALL.

Because even though our Sunday gospel passage cuts off at Luke 10:20, Luke 10:21 — the VERY NEXT VERSE — says this: “At that very moment [Jesus] rejoiced [in] the holy Spirit and said, “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will!”

Jesus chose this moment — the return of the 72 — to REJOICE!

And St Luke uses that same Greek word again: 

Agalliao.

Jesus AGALLIAO’d… He rejoiced with the most intense joy. With overflowing emotion. He cut loose. Maybe He was even JUMPING for joy with the 72 disciples!

Interestingly enough, this is the ONE place in all the gospels where it specifically mentions that Jesus rejoices.

And after rejoicing in this way, Jesus turns to his disciples and says: 

“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”

Their eyes saw lepers cleansed, demoniacs set free, people raised from the dead! Those eyes are so blessed, Jesus says as he rejoices to see His Father’s plan unfold…

So…let’s be absolutely clear: 

Far from wanting to shut down the 72 disciples and dampen their enthusiasm and reduce their desire to see healings and miracles… Jesus actually really wanted to share in their joy. He wanted to jump up and down WITH THEM… because he was so happy that his disciples finally were getting to see everything that God wanted to do through them! That the ABUNDANT HARVEST was actually now being carried out… The Father’s will was being fulfilled!!!!

Dr Mary Healy once put it this way: “Healings give Jesus so much joy, Every time there’s a healing worked in His name, He rejoices. And he does not forget a single healing.”

Ok, so …with all of that in mind… how then should we interpret Jesus’ response to the 72 upon first returning from their mission trip? — “Do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

Well, I think it’s actually pretty simple.

Jesus wanted them to understand the actual meaning of the miracles. He wanted them to realize that it was not them doing anything at all… that their success in healing the sick and casting out devils was no credit to them at all.

Fr Andrew Apostoli says it this way: “Jesus is warning them against pride and any false spiritual security that could result from the feeling that even the evil spirits were subject to them.”

And we know this instinctively, or maybe we’ve seen it happen — that, when healings and miracles begin to happen… it’s really really easy for it to go to people’s heads. It’s really easy for someone with a particular gifting in this area to fall prey to vanity and self-glorification… to revel in the gifts… rather than the Giver of the gifts.

To that, Jesus warns us sternly: “Don’t rejoice so much when you see great things happening… Rejoice in your salvation instead. Rejoice that God loves you so much. Rejoice in God, your savior!”

Besides…we really shouldn’t be all that surprised when the Name of Jesus makes supernatural things happen around us.

Part of me imagines Jesus just looking at the 72 as they come back freaking out and being like:

“Yeah… duh… What’d you expect? That sort of stuff is supposed to happen when believers go out in my Name! This is what I came to do! This is what my Father is all about! Why are you so surprised? Did you not believe?”

The simple fact of the matter is this: 

The Name of Jesus has real, actual power… regardless of our own personal holiness. Regardless of anything about us at all!

“Whatever you ask the Father in my name He will give you,” Jesus says, and he meant it! (Not always in the way we expect or the way we necessarily want Him to…)

But the Name of Jesus… is objectively efficacious. Objectively powerful!!

Powerful enough to convert souls from sinful lifestyles.

Powerful enough to raise the dead.

Powerful enough to heal physically and emotionally

Powerful enough to send demons running away.

In fact, I want us to just say the Name of Jesus out loud right now…Who knows how God will use it to change someone or something in the world?

Y’all ready? JESUS on the count of 3…

1…2…3….

JESUS.

That’s powerful, man.

I don’t know what just changed. Maybe someone was healed. Maybe someone new will show up at our parish next weekend because of it. Maybe someone somewhere in the world decided that life was actually worth living.

I don’t know.

But even if we did somehow know… we still would NOT rejoice because we just did something awesome.

NO…

We’d rejoice because God did something awesome!  — Amen?

We would attribute NONE of the glory or prestige to ourselves, but all the glory belongs to Him! — We would “boast in NOTHING but the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” as St Paul said in our second reading today — But we would still rejoice because the Kingdom of Heaven IS at hand!

And even though we’re just little children… we are still somehow being included in the mission! Our names have been written in heaven! And we are now part of God’s amazing plan to heal the entire world!

You know that number 72 disciples is very symbolically significant… 

You know why?

Because 72 was the number of known nations in the world at that time in history! So when Jesus sent out the 72, he was actually commissioning ALL peoples…the ENTIRE Universal Church… not just the 12 apostles — not just the bishops — not just the priests! Not just the seminarians — not just the monks and nuns — not just the parish staff — No, he was sending EVERYBODY… ALL THE BAPTIZED… (All y’all as we say in the South) to go and be laborers in the harvest.

That means you! That means us… together as co-workers, co-laborers!

We worship here together on Sunday — I celebrate the Mass and give you the Body and Blood of Our Lord as the source and summit of our faith — the fuel for your entire life in Jesus — but the rest of the week YOU are being sent out to work in that vineyard… into parts of the world that I would never be able to reach as a priest!

You’re being sent out like “lambs among wolves” to reap a harvest! A harvest among your friends. Your family. Your acquaintances. You are being sent to pray with people. To invite them back to church. To suffer with them. To offer them help and comfort in their needs… to be the presence of Jesus in their lives.

So my question for you this weekend is:

Will you come back next Sunday rejoicing? Will you come back like the 72 who came back jumping for joy, saying: “Fr Anthony! Look at what God did through us! It was beautiful! I didn’t know this was possible! All glory to God. Praise the Lord!!”

I personally can’t wait to see and hear what the Lord does through you. 

I can’t wait to celebrate, and I can’t wait to rejoice with Jesus that our names have truly been written in Heaven!