Luke 9:51-55 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.
Though the concept of “race” based on skin tone is relatively new, dividing people into hierarchies of value is ancient and often leads to violence. James and John obviously felt superior to Samaritans based on mixed blood and mixed theology and they proposed genocide. Jesus, however, rebuked them. What do you think Jesus said to them? Genocide has been (and continues to be) a “solution” to the perceived inferiority of groups of people. Our own national history includes the genocide of indigenous people. What ideas were used to justify the destruction of life? What do you think Jesus would say to us? Where do you see the same “spirit of genocide” at work today? How do you think followers of Jesus should response?
Prayer: Dear God, In our efforts to dismantle racism, we understand that we struggle not merely against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities – those policies, institutions and systems and the racist ideas that perpetuate the lie that some members of the family are inferior and others are superior. Create in us a new eyes that will enable us to see brothers and sisters in the faces of those divided by racial, ethnic and tribal categories. Give us the grace and strength to confront the race mirage and its power to create inequity. Give us a new mind so that we can break down the walls that have been built within ourselves, our church and our nation. Heal your family God, and make us one with you, in union with our brother Jesus, and empowered by your Holy Spirit. Amen.
Tongue on Fire 