Tuesday, February 21, 2023

 

Tuesday, February 21, 2023


Psalms 121; 122; 123

Genesis 35:16-29; 36:6-8

Luke 10:13-24


At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit.


If you or I were to “rejoice in our spirit” it would describe something very deep and central to our being. That kind of rejoicing would take over all other inclinations. We probably wouldn’t care what we looked like, or what people thought of us (because we would probably be dancing). We would forget about the tiredness in our feet, the ache in our back, and that upcoming bill we have to pay, because our very spirit would be consumed with the act of rejoicing.


In this sentence, Jesus is rejoicing in “the spirit which is holy”, if we want to be pedantically literal with the translation. It gives us an insight on one level which is that Jesus was rejoicing in His very spirit at what He had heard from His returning missionaries.


But, as we know from other places in the Bible (and which are reflected in our creeds), the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit of God, proceeds from Jesus. That is, if Jesus is rejoicing in His spirit, He is rejoicing in the company of the Spirit. Jesus is having a heavenly party. There is Another Person to share in His joy.


This companionship of God, this relational way of being, is reflected in the reason why Jesus is rejoicing. Satan has fallen from heaven like a flash of lightning; sickness is being cured, and demons are being sent to flight. This is par for the course for the Son of God. What is special in this moment for Him is that this truth has now been shared with others. His first thought is to turn to His Father: the first extension of the relationship. Then He thanks the Father for sharing this truth with “infants”, with people who would normally have never been invited to the party.


This is why He is eager to remind the victorious missionaries (and leave a very good reminder for us) that when we see satan defeated and God’s miracles made manifest, we do not only rejoice at something so obvious as the fact that God is supreme. Rather, He wants us to join in His eternal rejoicing that our names are written in heaven. The true miracle, the ultimate act of God in creation, is that through His Son Jesus, we are brought into His eternal joy.



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