Word to the Wise
Wednesday, July 27, 2016 - Monday in the 13th Week in Ordinary Time
[Amos 2:6-10, 13-16 and Matt 8:18-22]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, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead." [Matthew]
One of the great spiritual classics of the 20th century is THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor who was excecuted by the Nazis near the end of World War II. In this book, Bonhoeffer warns about "cheap grace." By this he means settling for a comfortable Christian commitment that demands very little of us. I remember that this book made me feel uncomfortable! But he is only echoing what Jesus preaches.
Today's gospel passage appeared in yesterday's liturgy in the form reported by Luke. Today we have Matthew's version and it is more stark in style. Jesus seems almost abrupt in his response. The scribe would have to leave a stable and comfortable existence to become itinerant. The "disciple" would have to leave family behind and even the sacred duty of a son to bury a father. What matters most is the preaching of the Kingdom and faith in Jesus.
Would any of us say we are a "disciple" of Jesus in the light of these demands? What have we "settled" for in our Christian commitment? A famous Christian preacher once said the job of the preacher is "to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable." Would our lives have either result? AMEN