“Stay Focused…!”(Lk.9:51-56).
Old hostilities take time to die off; not until “a Romeo and Julliet” tragedy jilts the opposing parties to the futility of their animosities. Israel, though one family turned against each other when the kingdom was divided into two. The Northern kingdom with capital in Samaria and the Southern kingdom, Judah with the old capital and with the temple as a uniting factor.
Further polarization between these two was when King Jeroboam out of selfish reasons made idols and presented to the people as their God and barred them from going to Jerusalem to worship in the temple(I Kgs 12:25ff).
It got worst when during the Assyrian conquest, “the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon…and settled them in the towns of Samaria to replace the Israelites(II Kgs 17:24-40) who had been taken into captivity. The remnants of the Israelites made themselves unclean as they intemarried with these foreigners.
This old but meaningless feud between Jews and Samaritans went on till the time of Jesus. We can understand why the people of the Samaritan village did not welcome Jesus when he was heading for Jerusalem.
The parable of the good Samaritan and the encounter of Jesus with a Samaritan woman at the well shows that Jesus is concerned about whoever knows God in word and deed. Salvation does not come through a worship place or a denomination. God is Spirit and can be worshipped anywhere. Salvation is for those who worship God in spirit and in truth, no matter the place(Jn.4:1-26).
The inhospitable attitude toward Jesus by that Samaritan village was not any challenge that would warrant James and John to want to call down thunder from heaven to destroy them.
We wonder whether James and John wanted to live up to their name as “sons of thunder”(Mk.3:17), or they wanted to prove themselves like Elijah of old who called down fire to consume a mere messenger(II Kgs 1:10).
Jesus however rebuked James and John. His mission was too important to be derailed through little distractions like not being welcomed in a small village. According to Luke his destination was Jerusalem; although it is clear that this was not that last vital journey of no return!
Some lessons:
- Be focused on your destination and mission.
- Little unpleasantness on you by others should not derail you from your goal.
- It is neither by might nor by power but by the Spirit of God.
- Do not always want to seek revenge. Vengeance is of the LORD.
Prayer: Holy Spirit help me to fix my eyes on things above. Amen!
Have a blessed day! Peace be with you!
Rev Babila Fochang.