The Gospel Reading (Luke 10:21-24) describes how Jesus was thrilled with joy as the seventy-two disciples, whom he had sent on mission, returned and joyfully reported their success (Luke 10:17-20).
As the disciples were rejoicing over their experience of mission (Luke 10:17), Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit (Luke 10:21). Both Jesus and the disciples were in joy as the disciples described their mission experience to him. However, there is a contrast between the rejoicing of Jesus and the rejoicing of the disciples.
The original Greek verb to describe the rejoicing of Jesus is ἀγαλλιάω(agalliao), while the Greek verb to describe the rejoicing of the disciples is συγχαίρω(sugchario), which is derived from χαίρω(chairo). “Agalliao” means to rejoice greatly, while “chairo” simply means to rejoice. And “sugchario” means to rejoice (chairo) together. This distinction in the Greek verbs indicates that Jesus’ rejoicing is greater than that of the disciples. But what is a reason for this contrast between Jesus’ rejoicing (agalliao) and the disciples’ rejoicing (sugchario)?
First, Jesus’ joy (ἀγαλλίασις /agalliasis) was greater because he was in the Holy Spirit (Luke 10:21). And he was rejoicing not only over his disciples’ successful mission but over his Father’s revelation and endowments to him so that he could share at least some of them with the disciples. This is why Jesus offered his thanksgiving prayer of exaltation with great joy to the Father:
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. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.
The Father does not reveal and share power and wisdom that He shares with Jesus to those who think that they are too smart to believe in God but only with those who are as humble as little children, because they know that they need God and cannot do great things without His providence. So they seek God and His grace as little children see parents and their care. This is why Jesus warned the disciples to make sure that they would not become intoxicated with their mission success because they would not be able to drive demons out of those who were possessed, unless Jesus had shared his power, which came from the Father (Luke 10:22; cf. Matthew 28:18), with them. He said to the disciples to caution against complacency from their mission success:
Behold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven (Luke 10:19-20).
Jesus wanted to make sure that the disciples rejoice over what God had given them. And the medium of the endowments by God is the Holy Spirit, through which graces are bestowed (i.e. 1 Corinthians 12:7-11) and recipients become fruitful (i.e. Galatians 5:22-23; cf. John 15:1-8). Most importantly, Jesus reminded them their primary reason to rejoice is that salvation was granted to them for their mission work.
Furthermore, Jesus said to the disciples:
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 (Luke 10:23-24).
Indeed, those whom God has given the abilities to see – to understand are blessed by Him. Those who regard themselves as wise and learned are not blessed with such capabilities (Luke 10:21). And those who are in authorities, such as kings and prophets, desire such abilities. But God did not grant them the capabilities that the He gave the disciples through Jesus.
In the same regard, later during the apostolic age, Paul wrote, citing Isaiah 64:3:
Yet we do speak a wisdom to those who are mature, but not a wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age who are passing away. Rather, we speak God’s wisdom, mysterious, hidden, which God predetermined before the ages for our glory, and which none of the rulers of this age knew; for if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written: “What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him,” this God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God (1 Corinthians 2:6-10).
Reading the above Gospel text for Advent, we are reminded that child-like humility is required to receive the incarnated Christ in our hearts. And this is also how we receive the Holy Spirit so that we are endowed and blessed with gifts, including wisdom. But God will keep these things from those who lack humility because of arrogance though they desire to have them as they realize that they do not have what we have.
In the First Reading (Isaiah 11:1-10) we see that the Christ, whose coming that we are preparing, having been endowed with gifts of the Holy Spirit, as being anointed with the Holy Spirit.
In fact, Isaiah has this prophetic foresight on Christ having received the gifts of the Holy Spirit:
The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, A spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2-3a).
And this is reflected in this statement of Jesus:
All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him (Luke 10:22).
Because it was Jesus who has asked the Father to send down the Holy Spirit on us in his name, we are not only endowed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit but also can find the way to know the Father through Jesus the Christ (i.e. John 14:6; 15-21, 25-31; cf. 20:22). This is made possible because we are blessed to receive the Holy Spirit through Christ as he himself received the Holy Spirit from the Father.
With the gifts of the Holy Spirit, in particular, wisdom, Christ serves as the right and just judge, especially for justice to the poor and the afflicted (Isaiah 11:3b-5).
Being Davidic – being a shoot from the stump of Jesse, who is the father of David (Isaiah 11:1; cf. Jeremiah 33:14-15; cf. 2 Samuel 7:10-16), Christ the King establish peace and harmony in his Kingdom (Isaiah 11:6-9). Then, those who are faithful and blessed to have their names written in the Book of Life, will receive the signaling message to come to his glorious throne from all nations (Isaiah 11:10). In fact, this reflects the First Reading of Monday of the First Week of Advent (Isaiah 2:1-5).
Now we can truly rejoice as we continue to prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ, because we have received the gifts of the Holy Spirit, as the rejoicing disciples did, and as greatly rejoicing Christs received them from the Father to be the Davidic King and judge.
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