Guiding Prayer For Our Season of Fasting:
Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom,the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
Myself in Truth
Holy God, sometimes the fire of my anger burns high with others. When I am hurt, I want them to hurt. But you have shown me something greater can be achieved through peace. Cool my anger and increase my love. Amen.
Nurtured and Nurturing
The Gathered
Gathering God, help our righteous anger not burn brighter than our love. Help us to be willing to carry the hurts of our cross as we follow you. Amen
Challenge
As God is meciful, let us show mercy this week. Intentionally pray for someone who has hurt you in order that God might open the door to ministry with that very person later.
Opposition from Samaritans
"51 As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival.53 But the people of the village did not welcome Jesus because he was on his way to Jerusalem. 54 When James and John saw this, they said to Jesus, “Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them. 56 So they went on to another village."
Have you ever been left out? Shut out? Feels great to be the only kid not invited to the party. Jesus had just "turned his face to Jerusalem" and set out on his journey to the cross. Throughout his ministry, Jesus sought out the Samaritans and brought the gospel to them, like the woman at the well, but he didn't reveal his true identity to them at first. He warmed them up with a miracle and then laid the living water on them. He kind of came in through the back door.
But in this instance, Jesus sent his disciples ahead of him to secure a place to stay in a Samaritan village. Typically, Samaritan villages were not hospitable to Jewish pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem, because, let's face it, who wants someone who thinks they're better than you staying in your house and eating all your food? For generations the Jews had looked at the Samaritans as half-breeds and had been very open about their opinions. Disdain ran high on the parts of both the Jews and Samaritans, so it was no real surprise that they did not want to welcome a Jewish rabbi into their village.
Now here's where the Sons of Thunder James and John ask Jesus "Lord do you want us to command fire to come to heaven and destroy them?" Woah brothers! It would be like something out of a movie if it hadn't been straight from the Old Testament. In the story, the King of Samaria sent his soldiers to bring Elijah to him after he prophesied the kings death, and Elijah just sent fire down from heaven and burnt up the Samaritans. You can take a look for yourself in 2 Kings chapter 1.
Can't you can just see the wheels turning with James and John? Maybe they were thinking "Elijah was a prophet and he sent fire to burn up 100 men...and Jesus is the Messiah...hmm... oh yeah even bigger fire for these jerks!"
But Jesus rebuked them. I can imagine him looking at them extremely exasperated like "Really? Fire?". Because exterminating whole cities was what Jesus had been about up until then right? Come on guys, he wasn't even welcome in his own hometown. He had taught them to kick the dust off their heels in towns where they were not welcomed as a sign of shame, and then just keep trucking, not burn em' all!
Because Jesus held off on the fire and brimstone, doors were opened to Peter, Paul and other disciples to minister to Gentiles and Samaritans that would have been closed to them otherwise. Jesus had come to save and to reconcile and to pave the way for ministry in the future.
So today, I'm not asking you to reconcile with anyone...yet. But I am calling for us all to check our emotions and ask ourselves if our righteous indignation is acted upon, verbally, physically or emotionally, will it pave the way for future ministry or will it burn a bridge? Humble pie like the kind James and John ate that day isn't tasty, but it's easier to digest than a feast of wrath. After all, that's what the cross of Christ was all about...not giving us what we deserve. I think we call that salvation.
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