The disciples came upon someone who was casting out devils in the name of the Lord. We don’t know if it was someone who had previously known Christ, or someone who had been cured by Christ and who had decided to be one of Christ’s followers.
Saint Mark narrates to us the reaction of apostle John: “Master we saw a man who was not of our followers casting out devils in thy name, and we forbade him (Mark 9:37).
The Lord took advantage of this occasion to give the apostles a lesson that would be applicable for all times: “Do not forbid him, because there is no one who shall work a miracle in my name, and forthwith be able to speak ill of me. For he who is not against you is for you” (Mark 9:38).
That exorcist manifested his deep and effective faith in Jesus. Jesus accepted him as a follower, and reprimanded the exclusivistic, narrow and monopolistic outlook regarding apostolic works. He taught us that there are many forms of apostolate.
The Second Vatican Council said “there are many forms of the apostolate whereby the laity build up the Church, sanctify the world and give it life in Christ” (Apostolicam Actuositatem, 16). The only condition required is to be with Christ, to be with the Church, to teach her doctrines and to serve her with deeds.
The Christian spirit should make us foster an open attitude in the face of different apostolic works. We should try to understand them even though they may be different from our own manner of thinking or doing things. We have to rejoice sincerely in the existence of so much variety, because “the harvest is great and the laborers are few” (cf. Matthew 9:37).
It is unbecoming for a Christian, who is supposed to be “catholic” or “universal” to have a “one-party mentality,” which would maintain that whoever adopts a different mode of doing things or goes into a different field of apostolate would be a rival.
No one who works with the right intention in the field of the Lord should be considered as a competitor. All hands are needed. It is important that, while safeguarding the unity of the Church, Christ should be announced in different ways.
There should be unity “in faith and morals, in the sacraments, in obedience to the hierarchy, in the common means of sanctification and in the great disciplinary norms” (John Paul II, 31 October 1982).
But this unity has to be practiced according to the well-known Augustinian principle: in necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas in omnibus caritas. Let there be unity in necessary matters, liberty in doubtful matters and charity in all matters.