Saturday after Ash Wednesday, March 5: “He set his face”

If you missed the introduction to Lent devotions, and would like to read it, go to:
 https://www.storymakerlife.com/lent-2022-introduction.html 
​
Prepare to Listen.  Be still and silent, conscious of being in God’s presence.  Pray: Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes, and I will observe it to the end.
 
Prayerfully Read Luke 9:51-56
51When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.  52And he sent messengers ahead of him.  On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; 53but they did not receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem.  54When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’  55But he turned and rebuked them.  56Then they went on to another village.
 
Prayerfully Wonder
The journey to Jerusalem and the cross begins not with a warning of Jesus’ death but an announcement of his ascension, Luke’s meaning of: “To be taken up.”  With the end in sight, Jesus saw beyond the cross to his glorification.  Therefore, “He set his face to go to Jerusalem.”  He knew what awaited him, but went with single-minded determination, sending messengers ahead of him to prepare the way.
 
The journey began in Samaria where Jesus’ messengers were rejected “because his face was set towards Jerusalem.”  Why this was a problem for them, Luke doesn’t explain.  Did they know that hostility awaited Jesus in Jerusalem and were they afraid the rulers would come after them if they welcomed Jesus?  James and John were ready to punish them.  Jesus refused retaliation and went to another village.
 
Here’s the thing, following Jesus is never easy.  His way often goes through hostile places, forcing us to mix with people we’d rather not.   And when we think we have a good reason to make them suffer, Jesus refuses.  In this age when churches are splitting over disagreements on all sorts of issues, punishing those who don’t follow their agendas, we need to be reminded that Jesus always took the high road of peacemaker.  He never retaliated, even when people were downright mean to him and his own.  He set his face, not only to Jerusalem, but also towards peace and harmony.
 
Prayerfully Reflect
What will you set your face towards today?
 
Respond to Jesus
You set your face towards suffering and death and yet, Lord, you remained calm and at peace with all.  Help me live more like you today.  Amen.
 
Live obediently with a single-minded determination to follow Jesus, no matter where he leads.