“What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse. Yes, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on judgment day than you. And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven? No, you will go down to the place of the dead.” Luke 10:13-17.
The Bible goes hard on people who have ample privilege, wealth, and position. James warned teachers that they would be judged more strictly than others, James 3:1-2. The Gospel of Matthew contains a diatribe by Jesus against the religious leaders of his time who “crush people with unbearable religious demands…” Matthew 23.
The disciples were stunned when Jesus said it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. Wealth, in this case, tends to make the rich indifferent and satisfied. Amos warned those who have so much wine they have to drink it from bowls, Amos 6.
Korazin and Bethsaida had the privilege of seeing the miraculous power of Jesus firsthand, right in front of their eyes but did nothing as a result of it. You can almost hear them, centuries later, saying “Ho hum.” Privilege doesn’t seem to give any advantages to be more faithful, obedient, and attentive. If anything, it tends to make one calloused and resistant to anything which upsets their lives.
The journey of Lent provides an opportunity for its participant to ask hard questions about their willingness to follow the God who has revealed himself to us through Jesus.
Prayer: Our Father in Heaven, you have given us more than ample reasons to follow you. But we humans are resistant to your overtures of love. Please keep us from becoming like Chorazin, and may we be ready to welcome you when you come. In Jesus’ name. Amen.