The Gospel text today begins
a new section of Luke’s Gospel, one where there are many ups and downs for
Jesus and the disciples as he ‘set his
face towards Jerusalem’. This journey to Jerusalem will not be a straight
path for them. It will be filled with many banquets and opportunities for
teaching but also filled with moments of rejection and struggle; and so it is
for the Christian journey, it is not a straight path.
Why do the Samaritans reject
him? There was no love lost between Jews and Samaritans and the disciples want
to punish them. But perhaps the Samaritans were fearful of the consequences of
associating with ‘heretics’ who were on their way to Jerusalem to challenge a
particular system that held power over them. It is interesting how Jesus deals
with the disciples who want to rain down fire on the Samaritans, he rebukes
them and not long after this he will tell the parable of the Good Samaritan in
which the Samaritan becomes the hero of the story. This has much to say to
Christians today about the right kind of attitude towards those we consider to
be ‘heretics’ or who differ in opinion from ourselves. Jesus respects their
position and moves on to the next village.
The second part of the Gospel
is harsh but reminds us that His call is one that radically uproots people and
it is a difficult walk that should deeply challenge us if we are really living
the message of the Gospel.
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