Ever wanted to get someone back? One rainy day while escorting a group of prospective students and parents around the University of Missouri (I worked as a tour guide at Mizzou), a driver swerved towards a large puddle and nailed our group. Furious, drenched, and sharing colorful language not included in the regular tour, I hankered for a piece of that knucklehead.

Jesus and his disciples were refused entry into a Samaritan village. James and John (aptly nicknamed the Sons of Thunder) asked Jesus, Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up? Jesus rebuked them—surely wondering at their thick-headedness—and headed down the road.

James and John savored the power they witnessed in Jesus. They experienced a storm turned off, diseases healed, limbs knit together, demons sent screaming, Pharisees put in their place, and a young girl restored to life. They itched to fire that gun for themselves.

Like James and John, I too would like the fire of heaven available on a whim. A vehicle at Mizzou would have exploded back in the day.

But I fail to grasp the reason for such power. Not to punish, but to seek and save the lost. Jesus chose the metaphor of a Good Samaritan to help his followers understand this very point—James and John and myself in particular.

Jesus came to rescue, not to disfigure. To invoke his name in wanton displays of power, or to take the authority from others that is rightfully theirs is to use his name in vain. On the other hand, bringing his message of salvation honors Jesus and releases his power for its intended purposes.

Luke 9:51-56

Photo by Josep Castells