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Do I sometimes feel a desire for revenge on some person, or some group, with whom I cannot resolve my differences?

 
Reading: But the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them]?” But Jesus turned and rebuked them. Luke 9:53-55.
 
Good morning, happy Tuesday, and many blessings my dear family.
 
Today’s Gospel (Luke 9:51-56) reading is a foreshadowing of Jesus’s crucifixion and death. Jesus knew his arrest and death were likely, yet he held fast to his decision to travel to Jerusalem. He knew it was likely that he would be arrested. He also suspected that he might even die. Can you imagine the storm of emotions that must have been whirling around in Jesus’s mind and heart? Yet he decided to make the journey to Jerusalem.
 
This passage indicates the hostility between Jews and Samaritans, which was strong in Jesus' time. However, the disciples’ way of dealing with the issue and the Lord’s way differ greatly. The disciples were furious when they were not received in the village of the Samaritans and wanted revenge. Jesus said no.
 
What causes feelings of revenge to enter me? Do I sometimes feel a desire for revenge on some person, or some group, with whom I cannot resolve my differences? Could I place those feelings before the Lord in silence and pray to become more like Christ in my attitudes?
To go to Jerusalem’ in Saint Luke’s gospel means to go to his passion. The passage indicates the hostility between the Jews and the Samaritans. However, the disciples’ way of dealing with the issue and the Lord’s way differ greatly.
 
In the parable 'The Good Samaritan', the Samaritan is the hero and through it the Lord teaches that everyone is our neighbor and should be treated as such. We all agree with the ideal but most of us struggle with it in practice.
 
The disciples thought, ‘If only everybody were like us,’ as they asked Jesus to teach a lesson to the obstinate Samaritans. Even as he had set his face to Jerusalem, Jesus recognized how his followers did not understand his heart. Help me, Jesus, to follow you in humility, to seek your way. Let the logic of my head be tempered by the compassion of your heart.
 
Throughout the Gospels we see evidence of Jesus’s faith and trust in God. Today’s reading is a clear example of the depth of trust Jesus had in God. Do we have such faith? I hope so. We have to nurture our faith and trust in God each and every day. This creates a foundation and a relationship with God that will support and sustain us whenever we are in need.
 
Today and every day let’s ask Jesus to deepen our trust and faith in him! Also, try to find out if there are groups you have difficulty treating as neighbors? Reflect on them in the light of the Lord’s teaching and example.
 
Blessings,
 
Luis+

Date news: 
Tuesday, September 27, 2022 - 09:45

Ministry at the time of Coronavirus (Covid 19): Prevent, cure and accompany

Now we have to shape what some have started calling; The Church at Home. Although I keep asking myself; What do those who do not have a home do? For this reason, at the same time, I am declaring today in our Holyrood Church a Lenten day of prayer, fasting and reading the Bible in the Time of the Coronavirus.

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