Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God

Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?" But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." And they went to another village.

Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, 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 He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God." And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

- Luke 9:51-62

On Saturday, we read of Jesus' healing of a young boy, a man's only child. His disciples could not cast the demon out of this boy. Jesus commented on lack of faith, and then healed the boy. But while everyone was marveling, He reminded His disciples again what is to come at Jerusalem -- but they cannot understand it, they can't grasp His words. Enthralled with the "majesty of God," the disciples focus on power and greatness: which of them will be greatest in the kingdom? But Jesus teaches them that a little child received in His name bears the presence of Christ and also of the Father -- that he who is least among them is great. Then the disciples concern themselves with another they've seen casting out demons in His name. Jesus replies that they should not forbid him, "for he who is not against us is on our side." See Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me.

Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face. Jesus has been warning His disciples repeatedly about what is to come at Jerusalem, but they have failed to grasp it (see yesterday's reading). Today He begins the journey. My study bible points out that this is a turning point in Jesus' ministry: from now on, the focus is on His "exodus" from Jerusalem, His Passion, death and Resurrection (see commentary on the use of the word "exodus" in Transfiguration). "Received up" refers to the Ascension, which was celebrated last week in the Church calendar.

And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?" We see that the disciples are still learning about the use of power -- what greatness in the kingdom of God is all about, and how it bears a great difference from the greatness of the kings of the world. Perhaps they saw a difference between the Jewish villagers who refused to receive them on their first mission -- for whom they were told to simply shake the dust from their sandals as a rebuke -- and these Samaritans. Or perhaps they see a great difference between themselves, and their Teacher Himself. Perhaps they are simply, once again, enthralled with the prospect of the coming kingdom after the Transfiguration experience on the mountaintop.

But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." And they went to another village. The rebuke comes once again as a third teaching on humility and power -- in continuation from the lessons for the disciples in yesterday's reading. They must know what manner of spirit they are of. The Samaritans as a whole are not exempt from salvation even though this village rejects Him; others welcome Him in the Gospels. But this is an important teaching on their spiritual work in His name. They must know what manner of spirit they are of; they are here to save. It is another teaching on mercy, tolerance, humility - to remember who they are as disciples.

Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, "Lord, 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." A proclamation of dedication is received with a warning: the Master Himself doesn't have a home. He will warn repeatedly that the disciple is not greater than the Master.

Then He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God." Here is yet another teaching on discipleship: when the call comes to follow, nothing can stand in the way. Worldly duties come second, and the implication is, there are others who can attend to that. My study bible says, "Discipleship means singular commitment to the Kingdom of God. A disciple must be willing to let the spiritually dead bury the physically dead." Here, Jesus gives the man His work to do -- to go and preach the kingdom. The kingdom is the place of eternal life; in this sense he is leaving a dead life behind to those who want it and live it, but the disciple must set his face forward, as Jesus has set His face to go to Jerusalem, to the exodus to His kingdom.

And another also said, "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." Finally, we are given yet a third teaching on discipleship. We don't look back. Once we are set for the mission work we are given in discipleship, we go forward. This is how we prepare ourselves for that kingdom. My study bible says, "Discipleship does not look back to reconsider, or operate by delayed response. It means taking hold of the commission given by Christ and moving forward."

So what do we consider a commission? How do we know when we are called? We have two examples here in today's reading: those who refuse to receive (the Samaritans in this case) and those who hear the call in one form or another. We declare our dedication, but we must be prepared for the insecurity the Teacher had. We are called to follow, and we must be prepared here and now to listen to that call and where it leads, what we must be about now. We are all in or not, nothing is conditional, and we go forward. So how do you respond to that call in your heart, in your life? Does love teach you where to go? Jesus has taught important lessons in humility and grace, in mercy, what it is to be great -- and what it is to make that commitment as a disciple to follow. Can we learn from that, as they did? Where does that love take you today, and what lessons do you learn in discipleship?