Tolerance

Tuesday Reflection written by Sr. Rosemary Finnegan, O.P.
Readings from: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/092821.cfm

The Jewish book of wisdom sayings, the Talmud, has this sage statement: “Say little, do much, and greet everyone with a pleasant countenance.” That certainly is what Jesus is doing in our gospel today.

We read that Jesus is journeying to Jerusalem.  ‘To go to Jerusalem’ in Saint Luke’s gospel means one thing:  to go to his passion, to face his crucifixion.  As Jesus and the disciples journey there, they try to cross the city of Samaria, but meet resistance from the townsfolk. The Jews and the Samaritans had quarreled for centuries and both groups did everything they could to hinder and even injure pilgrims who attempted to pass through their territory.  James and John, Jesus’ hot tempered disciples who have the nickname “Sons of Thunder”, obviously for good reason, are ready to strike out at the Samaritan people who refused to welcome them.

For Jesus to deliberately journey through Samaria, and try to find hospitality besides, was almost unheard of.  As ever, Jesus was trying to reach out to everyone, and he was rejected, not for the first time and definitely not for the last time either.  In Jerusalem, the end of his earthly journey, he would experience the ultimate rejection.

James and John thought they were doing a praiseworthy thing when they offered to call in divine aid to blot out the village.  But Jesus wouldn’t have it. Jesus was tolerant, not vindictive.  Jesus was putting into practice that Jewish belief: “Say little, do much, and greet everyone with a pleasant countenance.” 

Tolerance is a virtue so very needed in our world of such diversity, attitudes and actions.  The belief that one’s beliefs and methods alone are correct has been the cause of more tragedy and distress than almost anything else…abuse in families, bullying in schools, and violence in our world.

True tolerance recognizes and respects the opinions and practices of others.  It abhors discrimination, violence, and prejudice.  It is a call to compassion, love, and kindness.

In a good sense, Jesus wasn’t always tolerant, however.  He often showed his ‘zero tolerance’ for the injustices shown to the sick, the poor, and all the outcasts of society.

May we respectfully look at another person, like Jesus did, as a child of God and with the eyes of love. “Say little, do much, and greet everyone with a pleasant countenance.”