Thoughts for the Day

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, 'I will follow you wherever you go.' 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.' To another he said, 'Follow me,' but he said, 'Lord, first let me go and bury my father.' But Jesus said to him, 'Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.' Another said, 'I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.' Jesus said to him, 'No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.'

(Church in Wales Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

This passage from Luke's Gospel seems hard to take, but let's dig a little deeper. The first would-be follower is told to consider the life ahead: 'Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.' Jesus uses the term 'Son of Man' as used in the Book of Daniel, and taken to refer to the Messiah. God's Messiah has no place to call his own (and as we know he is on his way to the cross) and those who follow him will equally find life hard. Those who wish to take up his mantle must accept that the Christian life will not be an easy option. We can't just stop following him when it suits us perhaps because our family or work has got in the way, or because our health or our age is causing a difficulty. This is not a life we just pick up or put down. It is for all of us a vocation for life, until God calls us home

The second would-be disciple wants to go and bury his father, which sounds reasonable. But a number of theologians have pointed out, he may mean 'when my father is dead', which could be years hence. Many today seem to think it will be ok to start following Jesus for a period of time when it suits them, perhaps when they get older, or when they have found a good job, or got married and had children. But Jesus turns it back on the man. He says it's not enough just to follow him when we think we can fit it in, for we are to do a job. We are to 'go and proclaim the kingdom of God'.

Lastly, Jesus reminds us of something very obvious - a ploughman looks ahead to plough a good furrow, even if he looks back at the end of a row. As Christians we too must forge ahead, not looking back. We must apply our Christian principles (our core message) to our life - that is to love God, and to love one another - if we are to be fit for God's Kingdom.

Lord Jesus,
You have called us to follow You
and we have heard that call.
Help us to accept any hardship
that this brings,
and to look ahead rather than behind
to take Your message of love
to all whom we know,
now and in the future.
Amen.