1 Kings 19:16, 19-21 / Galatians 5:1. 13-18 / Luke 9:51-62
There are some phrases that are quite amusing. Because at first they sound contradictory, then after that they sound rather sensible, but after that we are not sure if they are understandable.
For example, there is this phrase “We agree to disagree”. At first, it seems nonsensical, but after thinking about it, it may seem sensible, but after that we wonder if it is practical.
Such phrases may seem to be like a paraprosdokian, which is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or to reinterpret the first part.
Some examples of a paraprosdokian are:
a. I asked God for a bike but I know that God doesn’t work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness. (Better not try that ok)
b. The last thing I want to do is to hurt you. But it’s still on the list. (Beware: the list may be very short)
c. Always borrow from a pessimist. He won’t expect you to pay it back.
d. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and then call whatever you hit as the target.
Anyway, back to that “we agree to disagree” phrase, we can further that by saying that “If I agree with you, then we would both be wrong.”
Now in the gospel, Jesus and His disciples went into a Samaritan town, but the people would not receive Him because He was heading for Jerusalem.
Seeing this, His disciples, James and John said: Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to burn them up?
But Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they went off to another village.
The disciples, James and John, could not agree or accept the rejection of the Samaritans, so they thought of resorting to a fiery reaction to teach the Samaritans a lesson.
But the response of Jesus was almost like telling His disciples “let’s agree to disagree”.
But Jesus was also teaching them this lesson: When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water.
Anyway, fighting fire with fire only results in an inferno.
But how did the fire start? We know that when two hard stones are knocked against each other, the result is that only sparks will fly. That’s when the fire starts.
So when a disagreement between two persons happen, sparks begin to fly and a fire starts.
And then they start fighting fire with fire and dialogue and communication gets burned down and there goes the relationship as well.
And the fire does not go off. It continues to burn in the resentment, anger, bitterness and even hatred.
And all that just because of a disagreement that can burn into frustration and leading on to destruction.
A story goes that a man bought a fish and told his wife to cook the fish while he goes to watch a movie.
The wife wanted to go to the movies too, but the man told her to cook the fish so that when he comes back from the movie, he could eat the fish.
Also, he would watch the movie and tell her the story when he comes back.
So the man went to watch the movie alone. When he came back, he asked his wife for the fish.
The wife said that she had eaten it. She added: Well, you can sit down and tell me how the movie went, and I will tell you how the fish tasted.
We can imagine how the conversation went on from there.
Though it is just a story we can imagine the urge to call down fire to burn up the other party.
So, it is not so simple to say “let’s agree to disagree”. More than that, it calls for acceptance.
We may not agree with the other party, but let us accept the other person’s thinking and feelings about the matter at hand.
Jesus showed that He accepted the Samaritans’ rejection and He even taught His disciples to do so. And that’s what He is teaching us too.
As the 2nd reading teaches us: Serve one another in works of love, since the whole Law is summarized in a single commandment: love your neighbour as yourself.
And it continues: If you go snapping at each other and tearing each other to pieces, you had better watch or you will destroy the whole community.
Yes, a disagreement can lead to destruction. But acceptance can bring about reconciliation.
And when we accept the call of Jesus to follow Him in His way of love, then we will realise how unnecessary and futile disagreement are.