Choose Life

Today’s Gospel Text: Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 And a scribe came up and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." 20 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head." 21 Another of the disciples said to him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." 22 But Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead." Matt 8:18-22

Reflection: Just a surface glance at the passage and it seems to suggest that Jesus was in no mood to entertain any one:

In the first place we see that Jesus, having seen the great crowds around him, giving orders to go over to the other side.

And to add to his woes, we see a scribe then coming up to him and announcing that he will follow Jesus wherever he goes.

Then follows one of his disciples, which means, one who is already following him and seeks permission from the Lord to go and bury his father.

On a day like this; was Jesus in no mood to entertain anyone?

We have in Jesus, the one who has come to save us and reach out to us but also a one who knows his priority at a given situation and time.

The fact the he answers them in a reasoned and logical way, with all wisdom is clear indication that he cares.

In his answers to them he reveals the motives that people could have while following him.

The crowds may have wanted to be around a man who seems to also have star status; popular and widely discussed. Who doesn’t feel the urge to see such stars and even go home and boast about their sighting and proximity to such people.

The scribe may have had his own reason; was it a new story line for each day or was it the material gain and the windfall that one may get?

This particular disciple too, like most Christians, has a dual allegiance and Jesus, like the new Moses, challenges the Dedicated Disciple to choose life rather than death by asking him to follow him.

This Challenge rings through in all ages and generation to come; are we willing to listen? 

Prayer: I pray that I may be faith to you Lord and to your calling.

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us