Luke 9:11-17 Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ June 19, 2022 Then taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing over them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. They all ate and were satisfied.
June 18, 2022
Luke 10:1-12, 17-20 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time July 3, 2022 I am sending you like lambs among the wolves
July 2, 2022
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
1 Kings 19:16, 19-21
Galatians 5:1, 13-18
Luke 9:51-62
A. Text/Context
• The gospel today tells us of the inhospitality of the Samaritans toward Jesus and his disciples. For short, the rejection of Jesus by the Samaritans
• The time has come that Jesus has to journey to Jerusalem to fulfill the sacrifice of the cross
• Now there was a little problem in going there because they have to pass through the town of Samaria
• If we look at the map of Palestine during the time of Jesus, the public ministry begins in Galilee in the north and Jerusalem in the South and in between lies the town of Samaria
• Why is it a problem? Because the Jews and the Samaritans are traditionally bitter enemies
• They have a long history of conflicts, competitions and rivalry and discrimination
• In the course of the journey, they just walk all those distant miles so that by nightfall they have to spend the night in the village for the much needed rest, food and lodging
• But what happened when the Samaritans knew that they are going to Jerusalem they were refused entry in the village
• Again, why? A long story to tell but for the Samaritans, Jerusalem is a competition because it is where the temple is located
• The Samaritans were so jealous of the temple so that they too built their own temple in Mt. Gerizim
• So the conflict is also religious in character aside from being political, racial or cultural
• So oil and water will never mix but what is amusing is because they profess the same God Yahweh as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob but again inspite of the many things in common they are mortal enemies
• So when Jesus and his disciples were not accorded the usual treat of hospitality, naturally, they were insulted and these disciples James and John were so mad and told Jesus: 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
B. Human Situation
• My brothers and sisters here we see how complacent or how forgiving is the attitude of Jesus towards enemies. The bad reception shown by the Samaritans is simply ignored by Jesus
• Jesus wants to inculcate in the minds of his disciples the attitude and practice of non-retaliation
• And this is something very progressive and revolutionary for the disciples because Jesus goes against culture
• What was the prevailing practice? An eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth. If somebody punch you, then, punch him back. That was the rule. Patience forgiveness have no place in this kind of dictum
• And so in our lives as Christians, in dealing with conflicts, altercations, or heated arguments, we need to cultivate an attitude of maximum tolerance, an attitude of non-retaliation, an attitude of being diplomatic by having recourse to diplomacy or dialogue
• In summary we need to cultivate the virtue of patience
C. Challenge
• So today we are challenged to be more patient in dealing especially with difficult people
• We have to be patient in our ordinary dealings. You see, if everybody is patient perhaps there will be no corruption in transactions
• There is so much value in patience because it is the character of God
• What did the 1st reading say today? Let us go with you for we heard that God is with you
• God is with us if we are patient because patience is relative to compassion, understanding, forgiveness and many more
• Patience is the beginning of endurance and perseverance as St. Paul has also exhorted in the 2nd reading that if we live by the Spirit you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh
• Because the desire of the flesh is to fight back; the Spirit will oppose it by becoming more forgiving and diplomatic
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