Wednesday, September 30 : Saint John Chrysostom

How, then, could someone who does not gather with me, but is against me, agree with me in casting out demons? On the contrary, he wishes to scatter what belongs to me. Tell me: if you have to go to war, is not the person who refuses to fight at your side, by that very fact, against you? And when the Lord says elsewhere, “Whoever is not against you is for you” (Lk 9:50), there is no contradiction between these two sayings. Here he is speaking of someone who is actually against him; there, he is referring to a man who was, to some extent, on the side of the apostles, for they said: “Master, we saw a man casting out demons in your name” (cf. Lk 9:49). It also seems to me that the Lord is alluding here to the Jews, placing them on the side of the devil; for they too were against him and were scattering what he was gathering. The words may also be understood with reference to the Lord himself, for he was at war with the devil, scattering what belonged to him and destroying his works.

maronite readings – rosary,team