Will of God

Today’s Gospel Text: When the days drew near for him to be received up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him; 53 but the people would not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, "Lord, do you want us to bid fire come down from heaven and consume them?" 55 But he turned and rebuked them. 56 And they went on to another village. 57 As they were going along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." 58 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head." 59 To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." 60 But he said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." 61 Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." 62 Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." Luke 9:51-62

Reflection: Yes, he knew that he had to go to Jerusalem in order to be sacrificed in this temple town, as the Lamb of God; the one without blemish, for our salvation.

Yes, he also knew that it was the will of the Father that he should offer himself as the sacrifice for the redemption of mankind.

In keeping with this will of the Father, Jesus sets his face to Jerusalem but this does not please the Samaritans whose territory he had to pass; for the Samaritans opposed the Jewish way of worship and had their own custom and keeping with that custom, their own mountain or place of worship. (Jn. 4:20)

Therefore the Samaritans learn about this from the messengers sent ahead of him to prepare his way, they refuse to let Jesus through.

Thus on the one hand you have God’s will in keeping with which Jesus is moving towards Jerusalem and on the other hand we have the opposition to God’s will.

In the midst of this we also have the disciples who seem to have their own human reasoning’s to be indignant and thus sort the issue, with zeal, by calling forth fire.

In the midst of all this we have the greatest example of a sublime savior who handles the situation with absolute suave, calm and composed, rebuking the disciples and moving on to another village.

From this we learn a lesson on doing the will of the Father: Our anger and frustration does not promote God’s will, instead, it can be an obstacle.

Even overzealousness can be a block to God’s ways and they are mere human ways of pleasing.

Patience and trust and respecting the ways of the Lord and humbly walking in his ways are means to walk in the will of the Father.

Jesus proves that with his action, and at an appropriate time or rather at God's own time, he is raised as the sacrificial Lamb of sacrifice for our salvation.

Prayer: Teach me to do thy will, for thou art my God! Let thy good spirit lead me on a level path! Ps 143:10

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