From Vindictive to Loving

Learning to be faithful is a long journey. Jesus used a word that perhaps we don't much like to delve into. Sometimes, he called it "becoming a disciple." Learning to see other people involves a journey in which we see people who are different from us as having worth. A woman or a man who walks with Jesus learns to change their perspective. Here's one sequence of events that clearly show the emotional cost of learning to be a disciple.

Remember James and John, the "Sons of Thunder." Wow! What a last name! Imagine introducing yourself: "Hi, I'm James Thunderson!" 

Think about the lessons contained in these five short stories.

One day, Jesus took his friends through a Samaritan village but the villagers wouldn't welcome them. James and John showed a vindictive reaction. "Jesus! Call down fire from heaven on these people! Remember how Elijah acted? Just destroy these people! They won't accept us!" Luke 9:54

Later, Jesus told a story. He was answering a question, "Why is my neighbor?" And the lasting image he painted was about a Samaritan. James and John were getting the picture. Jesus saw a Samaritan as having the feelings of compassion and pity. But not only the feelings. It was a Samaritan outcast who paid from his own pocket for the stricken man on the road to be cared for and healed. "Imagine that!" thought James and John. "Jesus sees something in Samaritans that we haven't yet discovered!" Luke 10:33

Jesus healed people, lots of people. One time, a Samaritan was one of a group of ten lepers. All were healed, but only one came back to thank Jesus for the miracle. He was a Samaritan. "Oh," thought James and John. "Maybe Samaritans can be polite and thankful whereas our own countrymen just walk off without any response. That's something we didn't know before!" Luke 17:16

Then Jesus walked into a Samaritan village. A woman who had been married five times and she invited her friends to meet the Master. They became witnesses, saying, "We no longer believe just because of what you said, now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world." John 4:42

How do we know that James, John, Peter, and the others got the point? Not too many months after Jesus went back to heaven had passed by. James and Peter were sent to Samaria and stayed there a while. They brought the gospel to Samaritans and learned to be in fellowship with them, now making them disciples. What a change this represented! Acts 8:14-25

Learning to love others may not be easy for us. At present, we may need to examine our attitude and words to, and about, other people. Let's ask ourselves, "Do I have trouble seeing young men and women in our culture, homeless people, wealthy people, sexual harassment victims, high school graduates, Indigenous people with their unique traditions and stories, refugees, immigrants ... and many others ...as people who could also become disciples of Jesus Christ?" 

Those are the tough questions James, John, and Peter had to answer. Thank God they learned the right answer. Thank God for that Samaritan woman whose words still inspire us!