From the Sunday Note, with additional thoughts–
As they 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.”
Luke 9:57-62 from the Sunday Gospel
If you consider becoming a Christian…be clear about what Christ says you are getting into. Here he reacts to three such people: the first and third volunteer to become “followers,” the second one Jesus invites directly himself.
The first one makes an open-ended commitment to follow Christ “wherever you go.” Christ reminds him just how much “going” this will involve. Foxes have lairs, birds have nests—this earth is their real home—but not so for Christians. To paraphrase Gregory the Great a bit: for Christians, this life is the road, but it is not our country. We have no permanent resting place here. (Gregory, Commentary on Job, Vol. II, Part 4, vi., 11) Even our graves are not permanent, since our planet itself has a limited lifespan. Christ is inviting the volunteer to dream a lot bigger than that.
The second person is specifically called by Christ—that is, this one recognizes a call coming from outside of himself. He immediately resists and temporizes. Is his father already dead? Not likely, since he would immediately be involved in mourning and burying the man and not out along the road to Jerusalem where he could hear Jesus. So, it may be years before his father dies and the estate is settled…and then there will be getting the kids through school and…so on. In effect, he is temporizing, using a serious religious obligation as a cover. Jesus is trying to wake him up and shake him out of that. How many fail to find real life in Christ out of …dithering?
The third person’s request may be the most difficult for us to understand. After all, he commits to following (volunteers, in fact) and makes the simple request to go say good-by to his family. This echoes Elisha’s request to the prophet Elijah in our first reading:
The LORD said to Elijah: “You shall anoint Elisha, …as prophet to succeed you.”
Elijah set out and came upon Elisha…as he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen… .
Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak over him. Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said, “Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, and I will follow you.”
Elijah answered, “Go back! Have I done anything to you?”
Elisha left him, and taking the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them;
he used the plowing equipment for fuel to boil their flesh, and gave it to his people to eat.
Then Elisha left and followed Elijah as his attendant.
First reading for Sunday, from 1 Kings 19, excerpted
Elijah allows him to go, but he does seem a bit peeved. Jesus clearly refers to this incident by mentioning setting “a hand to the plow” and insists that his call to proclaim the Kingdom of God is on a different level of importance. It must take priority over our commitment to father, mother, brother, and sister, as he insists elsewhere in the Gospels. No one can plow a straight furrow except by facing forward. If we are constantly looking back over our shoulders, that furrow will wobble a wild, useless path across the field we are supposedly plowing at the Lord’s direction.
Become a Christian? Don’t do it lightly—Christ knows what it costs, for himself first, then, in one fashion or another, for every one of his followers. It’s a serious business.
For further reflection:
The Lord does not want us to live a life of backward-looking regret. Did you make mistakes? Waste a lot of time on things that you now see were trivial? Have your priorities out of order? See how you might have done things so much better? God is not stewing about those if you are checked in and listening today. Lord knows (and I mean, THE Lord knows) all those things about you–and you need to come to recognize them about yourself–not so you can wallow in regret, but so that TODAY you can respond to Him more clearly, more completely. Our focus needs to be on doing what is pleasing to God as best we can in this day. We can’t change the past. We can’t see the future. Today is it, so live for God today in prayer, love and care, and praise.