When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?" But Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they went to another village.
-Luke 9:54

I so enjoy the passages where the disciples do and say stupid things. This one is a gem. I can just see the priceless look on Jesus' face as he turned to correct James and John. What was the big deal, anyway?

Well, James and John didn't like the fact that Jesus wasn't welcome in a particular Samaritan village. So, their brilliant solution was to brutally murder all of them--men, women and children--with fire from heaven. Nice. The Bible might have read quite a bit different:

...and they travelled from village to village, spreading the good news, healing the sick and calling down heavenly fireballs to obliterate all who were not nice to them.

You get the idea. I wish I knew what it was that Jesus actually said to them. Maybe he cocked his head and shook his finger at them. Maybe he sighed deeply and rested his hands on their shoulders as he explained the finer details of not killing people just because they don't welcome you. No matter what though, I'm sure they were corrected in love.

-T. Michael Cart