Note: On Tuesdays and some Sundays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.
On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village. (Luke 9:52-56, NRSVCE)
The Samaritan villagers’ lack of hospitality was not a rejection of God’s only begotten son. That was not even on their radar
screen. It was based on the fact that he was Jewish and was going to worship at Jerusalem rather than Mount Gerizim. The enmity between the peoples had existed for centuries, and it’s understandable that the sons of Zebedee saw this encounter as a way to level some old scores rather than to reach out their hands. Lack of connection breeds suspicion and fear and the instinct to strike out before we are struck.
But Jesus gets that this isn’t about who he is, or even who people say he is or isn’t. It’s just an old tribal wound. Instead of exacting revenge or issuing judgment, he shows mercy and moves on.
That tribal instinct lives on today. Many of us seek commonality whenever we meet someone new. We desire to find a link by birthplace, college, neighborhood, profession, life status, faith, even a favorite book or movie. When we can’t find it, it’s easy to get sucked into indifference or worse. May we always remember, as St. Teresa of Calcutta said, our hearts “belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus,” and welcome others to join us there by our words and actions, even when that place is unfamiliar or threatening to them. Home for all of us is within the Lord, and He calls us to help Him put out the welcome mat at all times.
