13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Cycle C
June 30, 2019
Saint Mary Parish, Pylesville 9:30 and 11:15am
A Journey
Jesus’ statements in today’s gospel really need some explanation.
I mean, at first hearing, they can sound cold and insensitive. So, we need to look at these statements, but first I want to note something else.
In this rather brief passage, Saint Luke uses the word “journey” four times. Luke apparently is trying to make a point.
He sees Jesus’ entire ministry as a journey to Jerusalem. For Jesus, this was both a geographical and a spiritual journey.
Jesus was literally on a journey from Galilee in the north to Jerusalem in the south, but he was also on a spiritual journey, a mission for us and all of God’s people. Saint Luke also wants us to know that Jesus’ journey is symbolic of a spiritual journey that each of us is on.
Each day is another step in the journey – with Jesus, and back to God. It is a journey with new opportunities and new challenges always coming up.
Seeing my life as a journey helps me to see myself as on the way and not yet there, in other words, as human and imperfect and in need of growth. So, the theme of journey is important and powerful.
Virtues for the Journey
Now, in today’s gospel, we see some of the traits that Jesus calls us to have for the journey of life.
These traits emerge in Jesus’ response to some people who want to follow him. As I said at the beginning, we need to understand Jesus’ responses carefully because they may seem rather blunt and callous.
1. Go Beyond Comfort Zone
One person says, “I will follow you wherever you go.”Jesus responds, “Foxes and birds have places to stay, but I do not.”
Jesus is saying that sometimes following him won’t be very comfortable. Sometimes we will have to push ourselves and go out of our comfort zone.
So, maybe we’ll have to swallow hard, eat our pride, admit we made a mistake, and ask for forgiveness. Or maybe we’ll have to open our minds and be willing to think differently about something.
The point: if we are going to journey with Jesus, sometimes we’ll have to go out of our comfort zone.
2. Do Good Now
Then, someone says that he’ll follow Jesus but first he wants to go and bury his father. Jesus bluntly says, “Let the dead bury their dead.”
Scripture scholars tell us that from the original wording here, this man’s father was not dead and not even dying. Instead, this man’s words were an expression of the day and he was just saying that he’d follow Jesus but not now, sometime later on in his life.
Jesus’ response is that if we are drawn to do something good, do it now and don’t put it off. So, if we feel drawn to send a note expressing our appreciation and love to our parents or children or wife or husband, just do it.
The point: if we are going to journey with Jesus, do right now the good things that we feel drawn to do.
3. Look Ahead
Then someone else says that he’ll follow Jesus, but he first wants to say good-bye to his family. Here Jesus says that if you’re plowing a field and look back over your shoulder, that’s no good.
Jesus is using a farming image that some of us would understand right away. His idea is that if you are planting rows of corn, the rows won’t be straight if you’re looking over your shoulder and behind yourself.
Jesus doesn’t want us to get stuck in the past but live in the present and for the future. So, don’t be bogged down in past hurts or in past mistakes or in regrets about the past.
The point: if we are going to journey with Jesus, look ahead and make the most of today’s opportunities.
Conclusion
So:
1) Sometimes we’ll have to go beyond our comfort zone.
2) Do good now and don’t put it off until later.
3) Look ahead and don’t get bogged down in the past.
They are some of the traits for living life as a journey with Jesus and back to the Father.
