Today’s scripture: Luke 9:51-56 (ESV-text and audio) (KJV) (The Message)
As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.
My thoughts (Jeff Miner):
The core point of today’s reading is clear. The episode Luke describes provides a stunning contrast between the new way and the old way. Vengeance is such a basic, ingrained response; we sometimes embrace it without even being aware. Even good spiritual people can get caught in this trap. Compare today’s Gospel story to the Old Testament story in II Kings 1:1-18. There, the King of Israel and some of his soldiers treat the prophet Elijah with disrespect. In response, Elijah calls down fire from Heaven to consume them.
If Elijah can get even, why can’t I?
In our Gospel lesson, the Samaritans were snubbing someone far greater than Elijah. They were snubbing the Son of God. If anyone deserved to be struck by lightning, it was them. But that was not the Spirit of Christ. He came to show us a new way. “You have heard it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy,’ but I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Matthew 5:43-44. In Luke 9, Jesus shows us what grace looks like. He refuses to strike back at the Samaritans. That’s the core point of today’s reading.
But that’s not the point that most spoke to me today. Instead, verse 51 caught my attention:
When the days drew near for Jesus to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
“Taken up” where? To the cross, then to Heaven. The hour of Jesus’ death was drawing near. It would happen in Jerusalem. Jesus knew that.
In a sense, all of us are walking that same path. The Bible says, “The days of our life are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong. Even then their span is only toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.” Psalm 90:10. When I turned 40, I would sometimes lie in bed at night, about to drift off to sleep, thinking, “Wow, half of my life is over. The time remaining is less than the time I’ve already lived. Before I know it, I’m going to die.”
I didn’t obsess about this, nor was I paralyzed by the thought. I just wasn’t sure what to do with it. This was a new idea for me: “More than half my life is done; death is nearer to where I stand on my earthly timeline than my birth. What should I make of that?”
It took several years of mulling over this new idea before I realized I needed to do exactly what Jesus did in today’s reading. As Jesus approached the midpoint of his public ministry and realized death was drawing nearer, how did he respond? “He set his face to go to Jerusalem.” In other words, he didn’t waste a lot of time getting all tied up in existential angst. He matter-of-factly accepted his fate and move toward it with a sense of profound trust. He wasn’t going to run from death; he was going to embrace it — march right toward it.
Death just is. There’s nothing we can do about it. We can waste a lot of time worrying about it — or we can embrace it as part of God’s plan.
Maybe you’re not there yet — at that midpoint that makes you realize how fleeting life is. But some day you will be. So tuck away a little wisdom for when that realization hits.
Thought for the day: Don’t let fear of death distort your journey. Embrace it as a warm friend, the natural passageway from this world to the next. Like Jesus, keep marching calmly forward. Every step toward death brings us a bit closer to eternity.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.