I WILL FOLLOW YOU WHEREVER YOU GO

June 28, Monday

 

THIRTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

 

      The simple narrative of Abraham interceding for sinful Sodom and Gomorra is very rich in content. 1 All nations, even these twin cities of sin, can be blessed on account of Abraham if they show just a little faith and repentance. 2. Abraham, the origin and leader of a new people, is presented as a mediator, who intercedes for the people, as Christ will do. 3. A small number of just people can save many sinners, on account of solidarity in sin and in goodness. This theme will be further developed in the Bible that one person can save all (cf. The Suffering Servant), what, in fact, Christ will do.

       “Leave the dead to bury their dead.” Though implying total renunciation in the style of the Jewish rabbis, Jesus stresses more making a new beginning, getting uprooted from the past and breaking with it, so as not even to stay at home until one’s father dies, and accepting the insecurity of following Jesus and living the faith consistently and earnestly. Are we consistent? Are we radicals in the sense demanded by Jesus?

 

First Reading: Genesis 18:16-33

When the men got up to leave, they set off for Sodom. Abraham walked with them to say good-bye.

Then God said, “Shall I keep back from Abraham what I’m about to do? Abraham is going to become a large and strong nation; all the nations of the world are going to find themselves blessed through him. Yes, I’ve settled on him as the one to train his children and future family to observe God’s way of life, live kindly and generously and fairly, so that God can complete in Abraham what he promised him.”

God continued, “The cries of the victims in Sodom and Gomorrah are deafening; the sin of those cities is immense. I’m going down to see for myself, see if what they’re doing is as bad as it sounds. Then I’ll know.”

The men set out for Sodom, but Abraham stood in God’s path, blocking his way.

Abraham confronted him, “Are you serious? Are you planning on getting rid of the good people right along with the bad? What if there are fifty decent people left in the city; will you lump the good with the bad and get rid of the lot? Wouldn’t you spare the city for the sake of those fifty innocents? I can’t believe you’d do that, kill off the good and the bad alike as if there were no difference between them. Doesn’t the Judge of all the Earth judge with justice?”

God said, “If I find fifty decent people in the city of Sodom, I’ll spare the place just for them.”

Abraham came back, “Do I, a mere mortal made from a handful of dirt, dare open my mouth again to my Master? What if the fifty fall short by five—would you destroy the city because of those missing five?”

He said, “I won’t destroy it if there are forty-five.”

Abraham spoke up again, “What if you only find forty?”

“Neither will I destroy it if for forty.”

He said, “Master, don’t be irritated with me, but what if only thirty are found?”

“No, I won’t do it if I find thirty.”

He pushed on, “I know I’m trying your patience, Master, but how about for twenty?”

“I won’t destroy it for twenty.”

He wouldn’t quit, “Don’t get angry, Master—this is the last time. What if you only come up with ten?”

“For the sake of only ten, I won’t destroy the city.”

When God finished talking with Abraham, he left. And Abraham went home.

 

Gospel: Matthew 8:18-22

When Jesus saw that a curious crowd was growing by the minute, he told his disciples to get him out of there to the other side of the lake. As they left, a religion scholar asked if he could go along. “I’ll go with you, wherever,” he said.

Jesus was curt: “Are you ready to rough it? We’re not staying in the best inns, you know.”

Another follower said, “Master, excuse me for a couple of days, please. I have my father’s funeral to take care of.”

Jesus refused. “First things first. Your business is life, not death. Follow me. Pursue life.”

 

Prayer

Lord our God,
we share in the sins of the world,
in its injustices and lack of love,
by our silence and our cowardice.
Make us aware that you also call us
to lift up this world above itself
by proclaiming to it the good news
of your Son Jesus Christ.
And to make this message of hope believable,
help us to live it consistently,
that people may see that you are our God
of justice, love and peace, now and for ever. Amen.

 

Reflection:

Follow me

The Gospel, through short messages, wants to illuminate our lives and encourage our authentic following and surrender to the Lord. Jesus does not stop the scribe who was eager to follow him. Rather, he presents him a reality check. Jesus warns him that his path is a path that passes through the cross. And that is the cost of discipleship. The short message or the golden verse of the Gospel today is: “Foxes have lairs, birds in the sky their nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

The scribe’s statement looked like a generous offer – to follow Jesus wherever he went. But Jesus reminds that to follow him means to be like him, to be ready to have nothing of one’s own. Last week we reflected on the Sermon on the Mount, where the words of Jesus was categorical: “We cannot at the same time serve two masters.”
To be with Jesus is to accept a situation where we are left with no material possessions. Our security will be elsewhere. “Leave the dead to bury their dead.” It is unclear whether the disciple intended to ask leave until his father would die, or whether the father had already died, and was to be buried immediately. In either case, In Jesus’ mind, those not committed to the Kingdom were dead.
Postponement becomes a habit: after his father’s death he would find another reason for delay, and another….He is saying to us: if you want to be free, be free now! It is another way of Jesus letting us know that our following of him has to be unconditional. How often do we listen to excuses such as, “let me reach my retirement and them I become active in the Church?”

When he calls, we have to be ready to drop our nets, our boats and even our family members. His call is to a way of life. Those who want to go their own self-seeking ways belong to the spiritually dead. Leave the burial of the dead to them. The rituals of society, including burial, have their place, an important place but for Jesus the call to the Kingdom represents a radical commitment to a more important set of values.

 

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