My Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The crucial word in today’s Gospel could perhaps be “resolutely.” This is how Luke describes Jesus setting out on the road to Jerusalem, where his destiny is to be fulfilled in suffering, death and, ultimately, resurrection.
It is not an easy road to follow – and we never understand the mind of Jesus. We do know, however, that his own resolve was something he knew would have to be matched by his disciples.
And so, when he is approached by a series of would-be disciples, he seems to be quite harsh with them. The first is confronted with the reality of the life itinerant preachers – a state of permanent restlessness.
To our ears, it is, perhaps, his comment to the one who wishes first to bury his father – to leave the dead to bury the dead – that seems particularly harsh. It may be that the father has recently died – but if so, it is improbable that the son would be doing anything other than dealing with funeral arrangements and observing the strict seven days of mourning. It is more likely that he meant that he would wait until his father had died and he was free to come. This could be years hence – and Jesus was at pains to say that the spreading of Good News is urgent and should not wait.
Finally, to the one who wanted to say goodbye – the challenge to put your hand to the plough and don’t look back. Being a disciple of Jesus in our own day brings its own challenges – and our resolve can be sorely tested. Our reservations and temptations will be different from those of the people mentioned in today’s Gospel — but they are real, nonetheless.
The challenge is perhaps to put God above all things and all people! Do we really heed God’s voice and quickly response to it? Do we dare to accept any risk and price when we do make the decision to follow Jesus? Do we truly sacrifice everything for the sake of the Kingdom of God? Let’s you and I re-examine ourselves on how we are following Jesus.
With love,
Fr. Thuong Hoai Nguyen, Pastor