The Thirty-Three Holy Martyrs of Militene (284-305); Our Venerable Father and Wonderworker Lazarus, Hermit of Mount Galesius (1054)
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Colossians 4:2-9; Luke 9:49-56
Today’s gospel places a contrast before us. Following the first approach to people who are “on the outside”, John asks Jesus how the disciples should react to non-disciples who were nonetheless casting out demons in Jesus’ name; Jesus’ answer suggests that they should be left alone: he who isn’t against you is for you. The second approach “to outsiders” is found in the reactions of the disciples, and then of Jesus, to a hostile Samaritan village (Samaritans followed the Law of Moses, but rejected the Jewish temple in Jerusalem in favour of their own holy site on Mount Gerezim – they rejected Jesus since he was heading to Jerusalem): while James and John want to call down fire on these heretic Samaritans, Jesus simply rebukes them and continues on his way.
The trip to Jerusalem is key to this gospel. Jesus doesn’t rebuke people for doing good, even when they aren’t close to him. Of course, this doesn’t mean we share in the ultimate fellowship of the Eucharist with just anyone, and certainly not with the unbaptized; it’s rather that we apply the principle of agnosticism, expressed in the phrase, “we know who is part of the Church, but we don’t know who is not part of the Church.” Problems arise, however, when people reject Jesus’ trip to Jerusalem, his journey to the cross. Anyone denying the importance of our redemption, accomplished by Jesus’s death and resurrection, has misunderstood the Gospel; we pray for that person, and for ourselves, that we have the courage and wisdom to show them the power of the cross.