Luke 9: 57-62
As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding on their journey someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head." And to another he said, "Follow me." But he replied, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father." But he answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God." And another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home." To him Jesus said, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God."
Introductory Prayer: I welcome this time with you, Lord. Only in your presence can I regain and keep my balance. But, above all, let this prayer be a true reflection of my thanks and my praise of your majesty.
Petition: Let me understand more deeply the cost of following in your footsteps, good Jesus. Let me accept this cost willingly, without compromising my faith.
1. Hidden Expenses A would-be disciple of Jesus´ boasts that he will follow Our Lord anywhere, whatever the sacrifice. Jesus´ response makes us wonder whether the fellow understood what he would be getting into. Following Christ is demanding — and not always glamorous. We might dream of doing great things for Christ, but then find the day-to-day struggle distasteful ("the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head"). Unglamorous challenges take many forms. A new wife might discover to her chagrin that her husband can´t handle finances. Or a parent with high hopes learns that a child has a learning disability that will limit her ability to excel. Or a husband takes a higher-paying job to support his family, only to find his new boss is tyrant. Or a teen suffers ridicule at public school for her modest clothes. All these trials can be the cost of following Christ. What price am I willing to pay?
2. Family Ties Christ tries to dissuade another would-be follower from "burying his father." The man was probably settling his father´s estate and getting too involved in family finances. Our Lord wanted him to cut with all that, immediately, and get on with the work of the Kingdom. Too often money matters distract us from doing what Christ wants. No wonder St. Paul warns, "The love of money is the root of all evils" (1 Timothy 6:10). Is money holding me back in my relationship with Christ? Am I working longer hours than I need to, just for the sake of money?
3. Long Goodbye Did Christ expect the third would-be disciple to simply vanish from his family´s life? Maybe. Or possibly Jesus was just trying to get a definitive response from the man who, after all, must have known Christ for some time. Now the moment of decision had arrived. But instead of joining Jesus´ camp, the would-be disciple felt the tug of family ties. As followers of Christ, we have to be willing to make a fundamental option for Christ — an option that by necessity excludes other paths. Does this sound hard? It should sound familiar. Think of the young woman who says yes to a proposal of marriage. She does so assuming that her beloved has long broken off other romantic relationships. Or take the student who decides to go out for the soccer team at school. He rules out spending hours of practice on the basketball court. By extension, if we want to follow Christ, why do we fritter away hours in activities that have nothing to do with our faith or the Church? Are there things I need to weed out of my life?
Conversation with Christ: Lord, help me focus my energies better on you and what you are asking of me. Let me not be distracted by activities or material possessions or even relationships that aren´t helping my spiritual life.
Resolution: I will weed out one thing from my life that doesn´t fit in with my state as a Christian. It could be a Web site, a subscription to a publication, an immodest piece of clothing, a relationship.
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| Most Excuses Are Really Just Cover Ups | ||
Neh 2:1-8 / Lk 9:57-62
Excuses are a regular part of human life. We give them and we get them, and most of them don't really mean what they say. "The dog ate my homework," or "My little brother threw it out the window on the way to school" really mean I didn't do my homework. "We're terribly sorry that we won't be able to join you," means in most cases, "We wouldn't be caught dead at that event."
Jesus got a full dose of that experience in today's gospel. He offered a personal invitation to several individuals to join his inner circle. It was the opportunity of a lifetime, by any measure or calculation. But what he got in return were frivolous excuses that revealed that his invitees were on many counts just lightweights who really had no idea of the precious and unique character of his offer.
But before we rail against them too harshly, we might want to note the frequency with which we offer ourselves and the Lord even weaker excuses as he calls us to live up to our best selves. Some effective self-monitoring would be useful for most of us in this regard. Listen to your own inner voice as it responds to the call of the gospels. Useful self-knowledge is lurking there and so is the possibility of conversion. Don't miss it!