Daily Lesson for October 22, 2020

 Today's Daily Lesson comes from Luke chapter 10 verses 17 through 20:

17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” 18 He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19 See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Reinhold Niebuhr once commented on this text, saying it was Jesus' caution against the disciples' optimism and expectation of success.

And indeed, things at first seemed so successful. The disciples drove out demons and found themselves able to do all the things Jesus did. They were overjoyed.

But Jesus gave them sound warning. Not every day was going to be easy. In fact, they were headed for hard times when the demonic of this world would not relent so readily. They were headed for a time when the powers that be in this world would set themselves mightily against them. It was then that the disciples' faithfulness would truly be tested.

We rejoice in our successes. We are pleased when victory comes. But if it does not come, still, we rejoice -- not because we have been successful, but because we have been faithful.

During the War in Vietnam social activist A.J. Muste once stood outside the White House gate with a lighted candle, protesting the administration's policies. A reporter asked him, "Do you really think you are going to change the policies of this country by standing out her alone at night with a candle?" A.J. replied in a soft voice, "Oh, I don't do this to change the country. I do this so the country won't change me."

The disciples wanted to change the world. But Jesus warned them, it would be hard to change the world -- and perhaps even harder to keep the world from changing them.

Let's try to be faithful out there today, friends . . .

NOTE: We are reading the whole Bible through this year. Tomorrow's Lesson comes from Luke chapters 12 and 13.