Radically Following God
When Jesus saw a crowd around him,
he gave orders to cross to the other shore.
A scribe approached and said to him,
“Teacher, 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.”
Another of his disciples said to him,
“Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”
But Jesus answered him, “Follow me,
and let the dead bury their dead.” (Mt 8:18-22)
Was Jesus being rude? What He just having a bad day? Was He trying to dissuade these people from following Him?
Of course not.
As always, Jesus was highlighting the level of commitment that one needed in order to follow God. That commitment meant separating oneself completely from any other attachment that might keep one from God. “The Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”
That attachment is not to be extended even to other people. No one person should be more important than God. “Let me go first and bury my father…Let the dead bury their dead.”
If we wish to follow the Lord, we must severe ourselves from anything — or anyone — that may hinder us from following completely.
FAITH ACTION: Is there anything in our life, or any person in our life, that we have placed higher than God? If so, we know what we need to do. We need to re-prioritize our lives so that God alone comes first.