Focused on the Mission

 Luke 9: 51-56

A Samaritan Village Rejects Jesus

 

⁵¹ When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. ⁵² And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. ⁵³ But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” ⁵⁵ But he turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶ And they went on to another village.

The disciples display a common reaction to rejection, one with which we are all familiar: vengeance. Yet Jesus  does not fall for it, with his mind focused on his mission. He must move forward to Jerusalem, suffering, death and resurrection. At the time, the disciples did not understand, did not "get it", and we, although we know this pattern, when it happens to us,, we do not "get it" either. Our mission does not allow bitterness nor anger, and  certainly not vengeance.  It is a mission of peace and love, one which takes more "guts" than violence.  May we pray over this passage and learn to apply it to our lives today so that we may be true to our mission as disciples of Jesus, whose way is NOT the way  of the world.

Bro. Rene