Luke 9:51-62 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. And they went on to another village.
Many of us have been deeply disappointed by the decision of some organization or agency having sway over an aspect of our lives. Dismay, anger, and frustration, are just some of the emotions we may feel. A thought that may have crept around in many of us is revenge. I have to admit I had that one pop up in my mind on more than one occasion. In place of telling fire to come down from heaven and consuming “our oppressor(s), it is time to head to court for a remedy to the injustice foisted upon us. Hanin’ is too good for them, let’s nuke’em in court! Martin Luther has a few words for us to contemplate relative to the Luke 9 passage and calling in fire from heaven.
“Christ says Remember children of what spirit you are, namely, of the Holy Spirit, who is a Spirit of peace, not of division. Peter forgot this in the garden, and was rebuked when Christ said to him: ‘Put the sword in the sheath.’ The Christian Church does not require fighting, but suffering. The Holy Spirit permits it now, and maintains his silence that Christ is thus crucified and abominably dealt with. Because we have the pure doctrine, it happens also to us that everything that is great in the world uses power and might against this doctrine. But God alone upholds His doctrine, else it would have been destroyed long ago… But since they vilify the doctrine and defend their godless estate, we cannot hold silence, but must speak against them. In this we are like John and James, and in our heart desire revenge upon the godless tyrants… Here everyone should repent thoroughly and pray God that He would keep us from such murderous thoughts. We should not desire revenge, but have compassion, and remember why the Son of Man is come, namely that we should not desire judgment and revenge upon the sinners.
There is one final thought we can keep in our hearts, now that we can divert our attention from revenge and look with gratitude towards the cross. That thought is, to me, embodied in the words of Gamaliel when he was speaking to the council regarding killing the disciples continued teaching and preaching of the Gospel. From Acts 5:35-42. And he said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do to these men. For before these days Theudas rose up. Claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice, and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were not counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.
We do not know the end point for our suffering. Our responsibility is to keep humility as our watch word, and grace in our dealings with those who would seek to oppress. Regardless of the outcome, we will each and every day without ceasing teach and preach Jesus is the Christ in our current location. We do these things because the compassion shown in full measure to us by a loving God, is what we are to must share with all we encounter in our daily walk. To God be all the glory in all that we do each and every day. Amen.
PRAYER: Almighty and everlasting God, You have seen us through this latest storm. You have brought comfort to us with Your words. You have given to us the gift of salvation and life everlasting in the sacrifice of Your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. As we move forward we ask for Your wisdom to be known to us. Guide us, protect us from ourselves, and sustain us today and every day. This we ask in the name of Jesus, who with the Father and the Spirit, reign as One God, now and forever. Amen
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