To Welcome Him Still

Gospel Reflection for Tuesday, Sept. 30th, 2025 - Luke 9:51-56

In today’s Gospel, we see Jesus sets His face towards Jerusalem. He sends messengers ahead into a Samaritan village but the people there will not receive Him. Their hearts are hardened because His destination is not with them, but Jerusalem.

It’s easy to linger on James and John’s fiery reaction, but the deeper challenge is this: How often do we mirror the Samaritan village? How often do we turn Jesus away because His plans don’t match our expectations? When His path seems fixed on someone else’s needs, disappointment can quietly close our hearts.

The Samaritans wanted a Messiah on their own terms. James and John wanted justice on theirs. But Jesus stays fixed on the Father’s will — a will that leads to the Cross, and through it, to salvation for all.

There is a quiet invitation in today’s Gospel: to stay open to Christ even when it seems like He is passing us by. Sometimes His work in others is the very thing that prepares the way for grace in our own lives. Welcoming Him, even when He seems focused elsewhere, is an act of trust that He has not forgotten us.

The road to Jerusalem reminds us that God’s timing and purpose are larger than what we can see. Our task is not to demand that He turn aside to meet our expectations, but to remain ready to receive Him when He comes. So when Jesus feels distant, don’t close your heart. Keep it open in trust — He is nearer than you think.

When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled,
he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem,
and he sent messengers ahead of him.
On the way they entered a Samaritan village
to prepare for his reception there,
but they would not welcome him
because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem.
When the disciples James and John saw this they asked,
“Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven
to consume them?”
Jesus turned and rebuked them,
and they journeyed to another village.