Sunday, June 27, 2010

Ok, but first let me ...

Lord, let me go first and bury my father...
Let the dead bury their dead.


First, let me say goodbye to my family at home ...

No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.


I imagine Jesus shaking His head ever so slightly as he watched each of those men struggle with the decision staring them in the face.

And to be honest, I've always taken this passage from Luke at a symbolic level - that we cannot focus on following our Lord if we are concerned with worldly things.

But today I read it literally.

Burying one's father and saying goodbye to one's family are two pretty big things, aren't they? And Jesus still told them to pass and follow Him.

It's not like they said, "Let me just watch this show I TiVo-ed," or "I have reservations at this great restaurant tonight - can I meet up with you after dinner?"

Which makes me wonder how hard our Lord is shaking His head at the choices I make each day.

I pray I haven't given Him whiplash.

God Bless.

7 comments:

Karinann said...

I agree looking at this passage from a symbolic perspective is a little easier than the literal one. I often imagine Our Lord at the very least rolling His eyes at the things I put between Him and me each day.

Victor S E Moubarak said...

Christ is not being harsh when He says let the dead bury the dead, and no need to say goodbye. He knows these things are important in the human sense.

What He is teaching here is commitment. Once you put your hand to the plough carry on with that decision. Whatever you have committed to in life - being a priest, getting married, following Christ. Take it seriously, and don't give up at the first obstacle.

God bless.

Mary N. said...

I wish I could just keep my hands to the plow always. Unfortunately, I still get distracted (even the computer distracts me if I'm being honest and I have to take little breaks from it).
I'd like to plow those ice cream sandwiches right out of my life, too! Thanks for the great posts!

Victor S E Moubarak said...

Hi Michael,

Thanx for visiting. I've responded to your comments about US Soccer on my Blog.

God bless.

Happy Catholic said...

Really, really good post Michael. I am as guilty of giving Jesus whiplash as anyone. *sigh* Thank God for He is patient. And kind.

Anne said...

Can I have a neck brace to give to the Lord?

Anonymous said...

I know I have given our Lord whiplash. I really like the comment Victor made and I agree. As usual a great and thought provoking post Michael.