Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head

And when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave a command to depart to the other side. Then a certain scribe came and said to him, "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." Then another of his disciples said to him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

Now when he got into a boat, his disciples followed him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But he was asleep. Then his disciples came to him and awoke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" But he said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and sea obey him?"

- Matthew 8:18-27

Today's reading occurs amidst the healing ministry of Jesus as reported in Matthew's gospel. These two scenes in today's reading are reported in between the healing of the centurion's servant and the Gergeseme demoniacs. Today's reading conveys to us a sense of Jesus' identity.

And when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave a command to depart to the other side. Then a certain scribe came and said to him, "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." My study bible notes, "Since Son of Man refers to the Messiah (Daniel 7:13), it expresses both his humanity and divinity. Here it refers to Jesus' human condition; in 25:31-33 it describes his divine authority as Judge." Surely, no Jewish listener (particularly a scribe) could fail to understand the term from the Scriptures. It is an apocalyptic reference to one (as my study bible notes) who is both human and divine. Here, Jesus describes his human condition. And, as we have focused in the past two readings (see Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean and I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel! ) on themes of holiness and the effects of the power of the Spirit to "lift up the lowly" and to heal the afflicted, so this reading also reflects similar themes. The Son of Man himself has nowhere to lay his head. The world and its values are upside down - and the Messiah, the Son of Man, is here to reverse the order. The effects of holiness show us the nature of the values we see in a fallen world. That the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head when even the foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests tells us about our world - and about the spiritual reality that has come to reveal itself and to teach us about what we see and understand, and how we judge.

Then another of his disciples said to him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." But Jesus said to him, Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead." My study bible notes, "Jesus is not negating the command to honor parents. He means that nothing ought to be more urgent to us than the things of the Kingdom. Those who ignore heavenly priority are spiritually dead." This is another profound statement about spiritual perspective, about the reality of this kingdom that is intersecting with the reality of the world. What does it take for discipleship? Jesus has just told one disciple of his poverty and homelessness - even he, the great Teacher, the Son of Man faces this hardship in the world. And here, family obligations of the most solemn kind are given a particular treatment. "Let the dead bury their own dead" refers to those who fail to see, and places devotion to the kingdom ahead of worldly values. It is not a condemnation of family obligations, certainly - but it is a statement that there are those who will fulfill such obligations, while those called to the kingdom put that obligation first - just as the material concerns of daily life come second to the kingdom to the one who has nowhere to lay his head.

Now when he got into a boat, his disciples followed him. And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But he was asleep. Then his disciples came to him and awoke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" But he said to them, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" Then he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled, saying, "Who can this be, that even the winds and sea obey him?" My study bible notes here, "Jesus' mastery over creation is another powerful sign that he is the Messiah and is divine. Commands to the sea and waves (v. 24) cannot be issued by a mere human being, but only by God (Job 28:8-11; Ps. 65:5-8; 107:29). Jesus was asleep because he was truly fatigued and needed the rest, for in his Incarnation he assumed all the natural and blameless passions of humanity, of which sleep is one. His inactivity intensified the disciples' fear, giving this miracle a greater impact. The image of Christ and the disciples in a boat is traditionally used to depict the Lord and his Church. God permits storms, and delivers us from them, so that we can see his blessings and protection more clearly. Jesus, rebuking the storms, reminds us that he puts an end to the tempest in our souls." As my study bible indicates, power over the forces of nature is a clear sign in the gospel that we are dealing with divinity - and Jesus' sleep is his human side. He is (as the previous verses tell us) by his own self-reference, the Son of Man. Those who would be his disciples must be prepared not only for the vicissitudes of life: issues of material survival, family obligation (including the one with the strongest impact - death and mourning), and here the storm on the sea and the accompanying fears and emotions we all face. But we must also prepare for transcendence. We go through the realities of the world we live in with another in mind that teaches us about who we are and what we are here for - and how we negotiate all of these difficulties attached to our world. We have another priority that gives us shape and definition, a form to our lives within which we are disciples. It refines for us our choices, our priorities, and values. And we are dedicated to its reality, its teachings, and our Lord. He is the bridegroom of the Church, the Teacher, and the Comforter.

Midst the healings in this part of Matthew's gospel, we are given a picture of this man at the center, Jesus, who has referenced himself today as Son of Man. He sets down his values, his priorities - and teaches us in today's passage the way in which we must negotiate the affairs of the world in order to be his disciples. We have a perspective that sets things in a particular order that may be at odds with the world. Indeed, the effect of the holy is to "turn things upside down" while the world in its values may be seen as upside down. The "Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." His life with his disciples also teaches us that we will all still be subject to the realities of the world and its demands - and yet we are to negotiate them with a particular perspective in mind, a goal, a priority - and that is the kingdom. Like the parable of the Sower, which will illustrate these cares and needs as a riddle for the multitudes, we are to be firmly rooted in faith. It requires of us the ability to see, to bear fruit, to hold fast to something through our difficulties - and not to give in to the demands placed on us through all this earthly life of needs, pressures, and fears and and other emotions. While the good news of the gospels teaches us that he is here to "lift up the lowly" and to "fill the hungry with good things" - and the Beatitudes Jesus has so recently taught in this gospel give us a picture of the transcendent reality we embrace through spiritual values in faith - today's passage prepares us to look at life in all of its reality, its pressures and demands, and our own emotional natures. We will live through all of it, experience all of it. But we are called to do so with faith. As disciples, this is our job. Just as Jesus as Son of Man is both human and divine - as expressed in today's reading - so we are to live through the world in all of its fullness: we are here to root a heavenly kingdom in our earthly lives. This passage teaches us that we face all of reality unflinching, undenying, and yet we live through it in faith - with faith. Our Teacher does not tell us to put on "rose-colored glasses." Rather, this faith - as will Jesus' earthly life - reaches out to grasp all of life in its reality, the bitter and the sweet, the difficult and the joyously transcendent. And so, we are, like Him. We achieve this through faith - that is all he tries to teach us here, in that boat on the stormy sea, as we go through life and face its difficulties and put his priorities first.