Power

Scripture passage that caught my attention today: Luke 9:51-56 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; 53 but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 When 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?” 55 But he turned and rebuked them. 56 Then they went on to another village.

Observation: The disciples wanted to use their newfound power for revenge. Jesus admonished otherwise.

Application: When we have power (or even the illusion of power), we tend to want to use it. Powerful companies leverage their influence, powerful teams employ all their strength, powerful politicians exploit their opponent’s weakness, and even people who own powerful sport-cars seldom drive like grandma. If we have power, we tend to want to use it.

Even the disciples of Jesus shared this very human trait. When they encountered opposition, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” It was their way of saying, “we’ll show them what happens to people who mess with us!”

I can only imagine their faces when Jesus rebuked them. That’s when they saw the power of illusion which was, of course, their illusion of power—they only had power because Jesus had given them power. Now they would need to learn, from him, how best to use it.

Over time it becomes clear that Jesus’ use of power is for the purpose of love. He is on his way to Jerusalem where he will use the power of restraint over fury, the power of humility over bravado, and the power of loving service over dominion.

Had the disciples been listening, they would have scrapped the fire from heaven idea from the git go and simply shook the dust off their feet and moved on (cf. Luke 9:5). Thankfully Jesus was still there to remind them of the more honorable way, both with his rebuking words and, ultimately, his life.

Prayer: Lord, help us not to be consumed with acquiring and/or abusing various forms of power but, rather, to simply draw our strength from your love and offer that love in service to others. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Readings today included: Genesis 23-24 and Luke 9)