Left behind...

Listening to the Spirit

We stand before You, Holy Spirit, as we gather together in Your name.
With You alone to guide us, make Yourself at home in our hearts;
Teach us the way we must go and how we are to pursue it.
We are weak and sinful; do not let us promote disorder.
Do not let ignorance lead us down
the wrong path nor partiality influence our actions.
Let us find in You our unity so that we may journey
together to eternal life and not stray from the way of truth and what is right.
All this we ask of You, who are at work in every place and time,
in the communion of the Father and the Son, forever and ever.
Amen.

Listening to the Word

Lk 9:51-62

When the days for Jesus’ being taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him.

On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village.

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.”

Reflection

Discipleship is something costly. All disciples in all times looking at the Master's life is somehow aware of its costs. We, disciples of today, observing Him once more and seeing that “...he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem...” cannot be indifferent in front a such model to follow. At the same time, He gives us the full awareness of what we need to leave behind. He knows what is waiting for Him in the Holy City. He is conscious too, of what He left behind and doesn’t look at it. He is determined to go. Looking always forward.

In times like ours, the changes are so fast and most of the time done without much reflection, we look at His determination. As disciples, we are not far from the first ones we see in today’s gospel. The attitude of these three toward discipleship and Jesus’ response to them is revealing. All of them were helped by Jesus to realize what it means to be His follower. Discipleship requires total commitment to Jesus, but this commitment must be embraced realistically. While followers should be enthusiastic in their dedication, they should also be prepared to pay the price of the total commitment. There is no part-time discipleship. Those to whom Jesus is talking in the gospel are representatives of all of us. May be willing to follow but not ready to wage the costs. It is a must to leave behind something or someone.

In fact, all the time we are called to make decision, choices hit all dimensions of life. Even the smallest daily attitude can be a challenge for those who chose to follow Jesus. It makes us realize not what we need to leave behind only but even more what we need to pursue and grasp forward. To follow Him is a way of healing our spiritual fantasy that enables us to see the reality as He sees it. Moreso, it is a saving process of our tendency of postponing things thinking that one day, we will be hundred percent ready, and mostly the discipleship is an attitude that frees us from the past that is not helpful most of the time.

The words of Jesus are sharp enough to make all understand His determination on the way to Jerusalem means: “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.” It’s not only a matter of being a disciple but first of all a step to enter the Kingdom.

The life of the Master and the testimony of men and women in all times give us strength to journey in our days. With one of them, Saint Paul we, one day might come to say: “For His sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him... (Phil 3.8)