Luke 9:51-62 (NRSV)
Read Luke 9:51-62 on biblegateway.com
Verse 51When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. Verse 52And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; Verse 53but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. Verse 54When 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?" Verse 55But he turned and rebuked them. Verse 56Then they went on to another village.
Verse 57As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Verse 58And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." Verse 59To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." Verse 60But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." Verse 61Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." Verse 62Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
Devotion
“Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?”
What shall we do with the power of the Holy Spirit? How shall the hands and feet of Christ in the world busy themselves today? The disciples in this passage from Luke correctly note resistance to Jesus in the culture around them.
I am a pastor in Oregon, a “post-Christian” place where the word “Eucharist” uttered in public will likely elicit a polite, “Gesundheit.” The culture here tolerates Christians, but distrusts us. How shall we respond? Shall we call down fire? No, not if we are following Jesus. Violence on others is just not his way; Jesus rebukes the disciples (instead of the town) and moves on.
Wow. The way of Jesus is so unlike our way! How do we use power to manipulate our neighbors? Do we scare people into “faith”? Does Jesus rebuke or bless us?
Prayer
Have mercy on us, Lord, when we think that your power is ours to flex. Remind us that it is to the cross, not to the armory that you lead us, and give us a little measure of your patience and vision as we walk with you. Bless us this day! Amen.