Matthew 8:18-22

Posted by DJL on Jun 20, 2014 in Daily Bread | 0 comments

Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. A scribe then approached and said, “Teacher, 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.” Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

If you want to attract followers, you’d probably better not follow Jesus’ example here. When several would-be followers approach him, he seems almost determined to discourage them. To the first he says that he will likely have few places of welcome in his journey. To the second – who makes what seems to most of us a reasonable request – Jesus demands that he reject familial duty and follow now.

So what’s going on? Well, I wonder if we sometimes misunderstand Jesus. Maybe he’s not actually looking for followers. Maybe he’s looking for disciples – persons, that is, who not only want to follow him, but also who want to learn from him – learn what the kingdom of God is…and is not, learn what God is really like…and not like; learn the true nature of life and death and all the other things we get confused about. And given that Jesus’ journey ends up on a cross, we should know – but readily forget – that Christianity is not about making it through this life a little better but rather calls into question most of our assumptions about what constitutes the good life in the first place.

After all, it’s not more life that Jesus offers – more and maybe even better of the same – but rather abundant life, life that is beyond what we’d imagined possible. Do you remember how Jesus says at one point that any who would follow him should be prepared to deny themselves and take up a cross? That should prepare us to recognize that his vision of God, the kingdom, and life is so contrary to our usual notions of success and happiness that it doesn’t just replace those ideas, it’s destroys them.

That’s why Jesus isn’t looking for followers but rather seeks disciples, today just as much as all those years ago.

Prayer: Dear God, prepare us to let go of our notions of the “good life” that we might receive from you hand “abundant life.” In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

Post image: “The Foxes Have Holes,” by Stanley Spencer (1892-1959).