REFLECTIONS TODAY
The hostility of the Jews and the Samaritans lies deep in Israel’s history. Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel which separated from the southern tribe after the death of Solomon. When the northern kingdom fell in 722 BC to the Assyrians, these sent most of the inhabitants to Nineveh and brought in foreigners who intermarried with the populace. The Samaritans were looked down by the Judeans (the southern kingdom) as half-bred and inferior.
This hostility is reflected several times in the Gospels. The disciples are shocked that Jesus would converse with a Samaritan woman (Jn 4:27). In today’s Gospel reading, a Samaritan village refuses hospitality to Jesus and his disciples because they are journeying to Jerusalem. Jesus does not turn resentful or bitter over the rejection of the Samaritans. He rebukes his disciples who express a desire to punish the townspeople. He is not vindictive. He even shows himself sympathetic to the Samaritans and at times paints them in a better light than the Jews. Do you make an effort to see goodness in your “enemies”?
Gospel • Lk 9:51-56
When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village.
Source: “365 Days with the Lord 2022,” St. Pauls, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; Fax 632-895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.