The Road Devotional | Lent 2024

As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” But Jesus turned and rebuked them. Then he and his disciples went to another village.

Jesus’ ministry was one of love, of truth, and of hope and wholeness. Jesus often stopped in the midst of wherever he was traveling to to make time to be with people. Here, however, Jesus encounters resistance to his presence. This resistance was rooted in a deeply seeded form of prejudice between the Jews and the Samaritans that had been around for a very long time. This broken relationship between both group of people becomes a recurring theme in Jesus’ teachings.

Q. In what ways do you allow your deeply held prejudices to keep you from experiencing God?

Lent is a season of preparation for Easter. Jesus here has sent messengers to go before him in preparation for his arrival. Jesus stops his journey by going to a Samaritan village. Q. How often do you stop and pause in order to prepare for something? In what ways do you want to stop this Lenten season to prepare for Christ to come in both your life and in the world?
The disciples, with their prejudices and anger at the rejection of Jesus within them, asked if violence was the right response.

Q.  How often do you jump into reacting to something instead of taking time to respond?

God, as I journey through the challenges of life, help me overcome the temptations of resentment and judgment. Teach me to be a person of your love and mercy, even in the face of adversity. May your grace transform my heart, enabling me to respond to others with kindness and understanding, rather than retaliation.

Amen.