St. Vincent de Paul
Lk 9: 51-56
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. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Moving Toward the Next Opportunity
It’s easy to talk about how foolish Saints James and John are in today’s Gospel. However, we do this all the time. When people refuse to offer us courtesy, our first reaction is so often to condemn and be angry at them. However, Jesus refuses to call down fire upon them and even rebukes James and John for asking. This is another example of what type of God Jesus is. He does not want to destroy towns that turn from him. Rather he moves on towards the next opportunity and doesn’t waste any more energy on it. We too can take those annoyances or down right injustices in the world, work to fix them, but also happily move on when there’s nothing more we can do. May God give us the freedom to give up control.
—Alex Hale, SJ, is a Jesuit scholastic from the Midwest Province studying philosophy at Loyola University Chicago.
Prayer
Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.
—Serenity Prayer