Reflections

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

But they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem.
(Luke 9:53)

You were going “resolutely” to Jerusalem, my Jesus, knowing that you would be tried, tortured and crucified. A Samaritan town rejected you because of hatred of the Jews, but you rebuked your Apostles for wanting to punish them. You simply went on to the next place. You came to save us, not to condemn us.

Would I welcome you if you came as a stranger, dressed in unfamiliar garments, speaking a foreign language, and going to a place I hated and feared? How can I welcome you today?

My morning was filled with overlapping distractions, phone calls, knocks on the door. Did I grumble, just a bit, inwardly, before answering? None of the people with whom I talked were strangers, and I did welcome the conversations, but still there was at least a hint of apprehension. Would my schedule be disrupted? What would be asked of me?

A schedule is only a guideline. Sometimes I wonder how much of my planning is a device to fill up my day. I pray to be open, and then I start structuring. My phone dies. The Internet stops working. The TV cuts off. I realize, once again, that I am becoming a slave to technology. How difficult it is to let go, to look for another way, to see how small and rigid I am. I balk at the most gentle touch of your rein. Please, Lord, give me the patience and obedience you illustrated for us. Let me proceed, as you did, to the next place, the next encounter, without wanting to “call down fire from heaven.”

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