You do not know what manner of spirit you are of

 

 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 

 

Yesterday we read that, when Jesus, James, John, and Peter had come down from the mount of the Transfiguration on the following day, a great multitude met Him.  Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, "Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child.  And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him.  So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not."  Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you?  Bring your son here."  And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him.  Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.  And they were all amazed at the majesty of God.  But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to the disciples, "Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men."  But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.  Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest.  And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, and said to them, "Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me.  For he who is least among you all will be great."  Now John answered and said, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us."  But Jesus said to him, "Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side."

 

  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.  As we have observed of others in the Gospels (such as, for example, the sisters Martha and Mary), these two brothers, James and John, are here true to type.  We recall that Jesus has named them Boanerges, meaning "Sons of Thunder" (Mark 3:17).  In our previous reading (see above), it was the brother John who said, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us."  (Take notice of the plural "we" in that statement).  Jesus replied, "Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side."  Here, it is these brothers who ask if the disciples should command fire to come down from heaven and consume the Samaritans who did not receive Christ into their village (for His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem).  Here Christ's reply to these brothers similarly tempers their "fiery" responses, and puts them in mind of what manner of spirit they are of.  For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them."

 

  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."  My study Bible comments on the phrase I will follow You.  It notes here that there is a cost to discipleship.  Here, it says, Jesus reveals three of them.  First, the disciple relinquishes personal or earthly security.  That is, if the Lord has nowhere to lay His head, then neither will the disciple.  Secondly, there is nothing -- not even the honor due to parents -- which can be an obstacle to serving the Lord.  Finally, a disciple cannot delay in accomplishing the good that Christ demands.  

 

 We often minimize the demands of discipleship in our modern context.  We live in a world which, for the most part in the developed or developing countries, glorifies consumerism to a certain extent.  Or, barring overt glamorizing of money and all that it can do for us, popular culture and modern life of great advancements in technology and all manner of consumer goods becomes a template for the way in which we live our lives, and the ways we think about how life works.  All manner of things become some kind of object of consumption, even to the point of choosing what our religion teaches and how we follow it.  In other words, "sacrifice" as a concept becomes minimized and even to some extent a scandal.  On a certain level, this even becomes unconscious, for it is the stuff of the societies we live in and the modern telecommunications we consume and use.  Do we want a Christianity that enables us to pursue the great dreams of success taught by the modern world?  We can find a variety or flavor that offers this.  Would we like a Christianity that teaches us that we needn't learn any discipline on our appetites and passions?  We can find that too.  Do we want a Christianity that corrects no one, and says "no" to nothing?  It's easy to call ourselves tolerant while we refuse to notice how much these attitudes allow or even enable harm to others.  On the other hand, the modern world in popular culture is often reacting to overly harsh attitudes of the past as well.  In today's reading, we get a balance between both of these extremes.  On the one hand, Jesus corrects James and John Zebedee, who wonder if they should bring down fire upon the Samaritan villagers who refuse to receive Christ, for Christ has now set his face to go toward Jerusalem and the Cross.  We recall that when Jesus sent the apostles out on their first mission, He taught them to "shake the very dust" from their feet in rebuke against those places where they are not received (Luke 9:5).  Here the Zebedee brothers seem to be consumed with the idea that a worldly kingdom is about to be established by Jesus, complete with the power of holy fire such as shown by the prophet Elijah (1 Kings 18:20-40), and we can imagine that the dispute about who among the disciples would be the greatest reflected this understanding (see yesterday's reading, above; see also Mark 10:35-45).  In today's reading, Jesus rebuffs such attitudes toward power among His disciples, saying to them, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of."  Following immediately upon this lesson, we are given examples of sacrifice necessary to be a disciple, which couples with Christ's teaching on the use of power.  Even such pressing circumstances which we deem ostensibly "good," such as the burial of a parent, fall to a secondary place when called to discipleship.  Here, Jesus tells the would-be disciple, "Let the dead bury their own dead," implying that those whom he has left behind are not interested in the kingdom of God Christ asks him to go preach instead.  Another reflects the same sentiments of home and family:  "Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house." But Jesus replies, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."   In a modern context, midst a breakdown of the family, we are often told that family values are the emphasis of Christianity.  But this can also obscure the fact of discipleship and the sacrifices it requires, even its priorities as explained here by Christ.  Sacrifice entails not only dispelling our conventional social ideas about power (which includes the power of consumption) but also social obligation and the priority given to a call from Christ.  To carry one's cross, to be crucified with Christ in this sense, is to learn to discern where we're called away from the things we might think are "good" to the higher good of service, discipleship, and sacrifice that God asks of us.  Each one's cross will be different, just as each social construct belongs to its own period of time and place in terms of how we're asked to change our thinking, and what to give up at times even what we think of as "good" and "successful" for the vision that God has for us instead.  In our time and place, we have a powerful call to consumerism, to the latest technologies, to obedience to one social realm or another, even to cancel culture.  Let us temper all of our impulses with prayer and the call from Christ, as best as we can discern.  Let us embrace the sacrifice that leads us to our own higher good that we can't know nor realize without it.  For Christ calls us beyond where we are and what we know, into the places we don't know, in order to grow as His disciples.  For all these things are teaching us "what manner of spirit" we must be of.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?

 

 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 if 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 the sea obey Him?"

 

- Matthew 8:18-27 

 

Yesterday we read that when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented."  And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."  The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof.  But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.  For I am also a man under authority, having soldiers under me.  And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."  When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!  And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  But the sons of the kingdom will be cast into outer darkness.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you."  And his servant was healed that same hour.  Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother laying sick with a fever.  So He touched her hand, and the fever left her.  And she arose and served them.  When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed.  And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses."  

 

  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 says here that since the term Son of Man refers to the Messiah (Daniel 7:13), it expresses both His humanity and His divinity.  Here, it is a reference to Christ's human condition; but in Matthew 25:31-33 it describes His divine authority. 

 

Then another if 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 says that Jesus is not negating the command to honor parents, but is teaching us to put the things of the Kingdom as the highest priority.  Those who ignore this priority are in effect spiritually 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 the sea obey Him?"  My study Bible explains that the Lord's mastery over creation is another sign that He is the Messiah and is divine.  It says that commands to the sea and waves can only be given by God (Job 38:8-11; Psalms 66:5-6, 107:29).  Additionally, we should consider that Jesus was asleep because, as fully human, He needed rest.  In His Incarnation, my study Bible points out, Jesus assumed all the natural actions of the flesh, of which sleep is one.  The image of Christ and His disciples in a boat is a traditional one used to illustrate the Church itself.  My study Bible tells us that God both permits storms and delivers us through them, so that we can see God's protection more clearly.  Christ's rebuke of the storm is also an illustration of His calming the tempests in the human soul.  

I personally have had occasion to consider recently various incidents in which I have struggled with difficulty, and especially in feeling alone or abandoned.  These experiences echo aspects of my childhood, and revisit old emotions that can be troubling.  But in today's reading, we see an illustration of Christ's experience of human life, and that is together with the disciples, and also those who would seek Him out to find discipleship.  In the first verses of today's reading, Jesus first sets up the later experience of the storm by giving the command to cross the Sea of Galilee.  He is approached by one who declares he will follow Christ anywhere.  But Christ points out that even the animals have homes and dens, but He, as Son of Man, has nowhere to lay His head.  It is a kind of declarative warning, that discipleship will involve hardships and possibly even a sense of abandonment, and the struggle for faith takes place amidst a world beset with such experiences.  He goes through such experiences as Lord, in His Incarnation, to offer us healing.  But we also will struggle, but together with Him through our faith.  In the second incident, another disciple says he needs to go home first and bury his father.  So we begin with an experience of abandonment, a kind of state of exile, and then we are confronted with death - even the death of a loved one.  But in the midst of that incident, Christ sets the priorities straight.  It is the kingdom of heaven He offers that we need, He is the One who sees us through -- and even family, without Him, cannot sustain us for what we need.  This is setting in order, giving priority; for there are others who will bury the dead, even as discipleship calls us forward.  Finally there is the scene in which wind and sea seek to conspire to frighten these seasoned fishermen on the sea which is part of their homeland.  But Jesus sleeps.  Again, we have a sense of abandonment intentionally given by Christ's command to follow the sea into this storm.  They fear death ("Lord, save us!  We are perishing!"), but Jesus asks, "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?"  Here we need to remember this word faith, and that in the Greek its root means to trust.  So He's asking them to trust Him.  This is another aspect -- possibly the fullest aspect -- of discipleship.  It is the whole root of faith.  In whom do we trust?  Where do we put our trust in life?  Whose light will guide us?  When we go through difficult, frightening experiences, and we feel alone or abandoned, let us consider His words. For it is then that He -- the One who will go through the same, and endure even the Cross abandoned and seemingly alone -- will ask us for our trust, to help us to heal even as we dwell in a world beset with storms and fears.

 

 

Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead

 

 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 the sea obey Him?"

 

- Matthew 8:18-27 

 

In yesterday's reading, we were told that, after preaching the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus had come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed Him.  And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean."  Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."  Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.  And Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."  Now when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented."  And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."  The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof.  But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.  For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me.  And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."  When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!  And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you."  And his servant was healed that same hour.  Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever.  So He touched her hand, and the fever left her.  And she arose and served them.  When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed.  And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "He Himself took our infirmities /And bore our sicknesses."

 

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 comments that since the term Son of Man refers to the Messiah (Daniel 7:13), it expresses both Christ's humanity and His divinity.  Here it refers to His human condition; in Matthew 25:31-33 it describes His divine authority.  

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 comments that Jesus is not negating the command to honor parents, but is teaching us to put the things of the Kingdom as the highest priority.  Those who ignore this priority are spiritually 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 the sea obey Him?"  Christ's mastery over creation is another sign given that He is the Messiah and is divine.  My study Bible points out that commands which are given to the sea and waves could only be issued by God (Job 38:8-11, Psalms 66:5-6, 107:29).  We get the true paradox of Christ when we observe that He was asleep because, as fully human, He needed rest.   Therefore we understand that in His Incarnation, He assumed all the natural actions of the flesh, one of which is the need for sleep.  The image of Christ and His disciples in a boat is traditionally used to illustrate the Church.  My study Bible says that God both permits storms and delivers us thorugh them, so that we can see His protection more clearly.  His rebuke of the storm is also an illustration of His calming the tempests in the human soul.

In yesterday's reading, we were given several examples of Christ healing others immediately after preaching the Sermon on the Mount.  In those examples of healing, we noted the essential quality of faith that was present and exemplified in various ways both in those who were healed or in their friends and loved ones.  Today's reading further examines components of faith.  We can see that this deeper examination and elucidation of faith takes place as great crowds begin to gather around Jesus.  It's like we are gradually taken on a deeper journey to find what really matters here.  First there is the man who says, "Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go."  And Jesus replies with a warning about the costs of discipleship:  "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."  Even the Messiah, the Son of Man, has nowhere to lay His head; are we ready to follow that?  Another disciple tells Him, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."  But Jesus responds with the power of discipleship and its cost, that it will draw a line that goes through the world in ways we don't expect, even separating us from what (and whom) we love:  "Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead."  What does it mean that the rest are dead?  It's not a comment about the man's father whom he wishes to honor, but about those whom he's left behind in following Christ.  This choice is about honoring the Kingdom first.  The following story is clearly about faith and discipleship.  It's only a few short verses, but it manages to teach us at once that Jesus shares full humanity with the disciples (as He is sleeping), and that faith will sometimes take us through great and threatening storms in life.  As my study Bible comments, it is Christ who will both lead us through storms and bring us through them.  So important is the element of faith to our lives, that this has been the perspective and experience of the Church throughout its history.  It is highly important that we remember this when we go through our own storms.  If we look at the parallel history of the Old Testament, in which Israel wandered in the wilderness (and crossed the sea), we can see a similar story:  that God led them to and through difficulties in a long period of wandering, with struggles, doubts, and all the rest of the things we go through in wrestling with our faith.  But that story, and this one in today's reading, really give us a message about our struggles:  that it just may be God leading us through them to teach us a deeper dependency, a stronger and fuller faith within ourselves.  In a consumer-oriented and prosperous world, where we are quite constantly bombarded with the message that life is simply for enjoyment and seeming perfection is attainable, we are unlikely to comprehend the reality of such a struggle and even a God-allowed challenge.  But this is the nature of life in an imperfect world, and we're given a purpose and meaning in our faith, even through the hardships.  Let us go through our storms -- with Him.  And we will see where we come out on the other side, through discipleship which challenges us to grow in our faith.  Sometimes that faith will even challenge our deepest relationships, and sometimes we will face our greatest fears.  Let us note this includes elements we hear often in modern stories of trauma:  even abandonment, neglect, and isolation or loneliness.  One thing is certain in the meaning of today's reading:  that through all things, Christ is always present with us.  And through the Incarnation He has shared all of it with us already.   The hard things of life may provide us with the best opportunity to turn and draw closer to God, and to deepen our faith.

 

Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead

 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 the sea obey Him?"

- Matthew 8:18-27

Yesterday we read that when Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented."  And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."  The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof.  But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.  For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me.  And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."  When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!  And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  But the sons of the kingdom will be cast into outer darkness.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you."  And his servant was healed that same hour.  Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw His wife's mother lying sick with a fever.  So He touched her hand, and the fever left her.  And she arose and served them."  When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed.  And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses."

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 comments here that since the term Son of Man refers to the Messiah (Daniel 7:13), it expresses both Christ's humanity and His divinity.  Here it is referring to Christ's human condition.  Elsewhere (25:31-33) Jesus uses the term to describe His divine authority.

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."     As always, Jesus is not negating a commandment (to honor parents).  But He is teaching us to put the things of the Kingdom as our highest priority.  Those who ignore this priority, my study bible says, are spiritually 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 the sea obey Him?"  Immediately after the text uses the name "Son of Man" for Jesus, indicating that He is both human and divine, this event is given in which both His humanity and divinity are on display.  Christ's mastery over creation is another sign that He is the Messiah and is divine.  My study bible suggests that commands to the sea and waves can only be issued by God (Job 38:8-11; Psalms 66:5-6, 107:29).  But Jesus was asleep because He is a man, and as human being, He needs rest.  My study bible says that in His Incarnation, Jesus assumed all the natural actions of the flesh, which includes sleep.  This image of Jesus and His disciples in a boat is a traditional one used to illustrate the Church itself.  My study bible adds that God both permits storms and delivers us through them, so that we can see God's protection more clearly.  Jesus' rebuke of the storm, it says, also illustrates His capacity to calm the tempests in the human soul.

I am one who can testify to Christ's capacity to calm the tempests in the human soul, as my study bible puts it.  As one who has met with frequent tempests of the soul, I can say with a certain authority that this is indeed the truth.  It reminds me of the man blind from birth who was healed by Jesus in John's 9th chapter.  When the disciples asked, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" (thinking that sin must be the direct cause of such misfortune), Jesus replied, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him" (John 9:1-3).  Just as one calamity might be grounds for the work of God, so the tempests in our own souls might also be grounds for Christ's work in us, to calm what needs calming and heal what needs healing.  This ties in nicely with the first part of today's reading, in which we are reminded that in all things and through all things, we may prioritize the Kingdom first, as my study bible comments.  It sets us free from the immediate storm, disaster, hardship, or sorrow -- and also offers up to us answers we might not get otherwise, giving us baby steps out of our problems.  If we are capable of putting aside our immediate fears or struggles, even for a moment, and focusing on Christ, setting ourselves to prayer, we might find a better way, an acceptance, and a plan for moving forward into the future.  Indeed, for some of us, disaster might just be the way to God's kingdom, for we would not have turned to Christ for answers otherwise.  Hence, the wisdom in my study bible's comments regarding the storms that Christ both permits and delivers us through.  In fact, if experience is anything to go by, there are a number of ways in which disasters and personal dilemmas may offer us a great way to go forward in life, particularly if we're mainly or primarily concerned with spiritual growth.  This may not be a recipe for worldly success, or the greatest social impressions that may be sought, but it is a way to deepen faith and to growth within the reality that Christ wants for us.  And this number of avenues forward and into new life is multiplied through all those facets developed through the Church and historical worship through time, such as praying with the saints, and the angels who help to guide us, the Scriptures of both Old and New Testaments, and our fellow faithful.  A crisis is a time for turning over life with its "shoulds" and "would-haves" and "could-have-beens" to an open place for inquiry, a freedom we didn't allow ourselves before, and an open mind and heart to God and God's direction that just wasn't possible without it.  I find that when we come up against a wall of the impossible, it is most likely that our direction needs changing, or our expectations need to be re-examined, and possibly our goals and desires re-evaluated in light of God's sight and influence.  That is the time we turn to prayer and find our way.  Often we come up against a wall not necessarily of our own making, but one that others might put before us in the form of social rejection.  There may be a line which we can't cross and remain within a particular social circle.  For the earliest Christian martyrs, that line meant death when responding by refusal to worship Caesar rather than Christ.  In a modern context, there are other ways in which people may stand in the way of proper priority in worship, often demanding that our freedom to choose Christ first be surrendered to priorities which don't recognize that essential choice.  Like the young man whom Christ tells to "let the dead bury their own dead," we also may find ourselves having to leave behind certain groups of people whom we think are indispensable, but we'll find ourselves called forward if we let prayer be our guide, and put Christ's Kingdom first.  These things aren't easy to do, and they are not simple.  Like Jesus Himself, we won't evade all of the storms of human life and what it means to be fully human.  But we will be led through them, and we will find our dependence grow upon God.  It is a question of putting our trust in this particular basket, giving Christ the keys to our souls and our choices, and setting ourselves free through God's truth (John 8:32).  This just might be the time of our greatest freedom, a realization that we can choose differently, and are not bound through the things we think must be done or observed.  It is time to give Christ the chance to show us the way forward, to let go and be guided by praying with the saints, to accept change that otherwise seems impossible.  Let us consider His way when no other ways seem to work.  It might just be time for a change in priorities, an unloosing of even the ties that bind.

Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?

 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 the sea obey Him?"

- Matthew 8:18-27

Yesterday we read that when Jesus had entered Capernaum (after healing a leper), a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented."  And Jesus said to him, "I will come and heal him."  The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof.  But only speak a word, and my servant will be healed.  For I also am a man under authority, having soldiers under me.  And I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."  When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, "Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!  And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.  But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness.  There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you."  And his servant was healed that same hour.  Now when Jesus had come into Peter's house, He saw his wife's mother lying sick with a fever.  So He touched her hand, and the fever left her.  And she arose and served them.  When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed.  And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:  "He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses."

 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."   The Son of Man is a term found in the book of Daniel (Daniel 7:13); it is used to refer to the Messiah.  It expresses both Jesus' humanity and His divinity.  Here He refers to His human condition.   Elsewhere it describes His divine authority (25:31-33). 

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 says here that Jesus is not negating the command to honor parents, but is rather teaching us to put the things of the Kingdom as the highest priority.  Those who ignore this priority are spiritually dead.  In both examples of the scribe, above, and this disciple, it is the things of the Kingdom which come first; even as Incarnate Son, Jesus finds Himself as One without a place 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 the sea obey Him?"  Here Christ's mastery over creation is another sign that He is the Messiah and is divine, my study bible tells us.  A command to the sea and waves could only be issued by God (Job 38:8-11; Psalm 65:5-6, 106:9).   We also see Jesus' full humanity expressed here.  He was asleep because, as human being, He needed rest.  In His Incarnation, Jesus assumed all the natural actions of the flesh, which of course includes sleep.  This image of Christ and His disciples in a boat is one traditionally used to illustrate the Church.  My study bible says, "God both permits storms and delivers us through them, so that we can see His protection more clearly."  His rebuke of the storm is also a spiritual illustration of calming the storms in the human soul.

Each of the stories contained in today's reading give us illustrations of the fearlessness asked of us that is a quality of discipleship.  That is, the natural human fears and worries that accompany the journey of discipleship, of faith, are those things we must acknowledge but not allow to hinder or stop the journey.  There is a quality of fearlessness that is also asked of us, regardless of whatever else is going on.  In putting the things of the Kingdom as first priority, there may be all kinds of ways in which we are asked to break through, override, or transcend our personal fears and concerns.  We're asked for courage in faith. Jesus first challenges the scribe to an understanding that even He has no place to lay His head, preparing him for discipleship and the sacrifices that may be asked by following Him.  He then tells a disciple that the concerns of home and family life left behind may be things of the past not required by the present path of discipleship, and left to those who still live that life.  We may not all have such stark levels of challenge to deal with, but we will all face challenges of life in learning a deeper faith.  This can apply to any number of things that we leave behind in our own faith journey, ways of life and even social concerns or former duties which are no longer top priority.  We note the vivid detail of the journey across the sea.  Jesus has commanded the disciples to go forward, even across this sea which is home to the several fishermen among the disciples.  But for them it is still strange territory; they are going to the other side, and are no longer in home waters.  The boat was covered with the waves.  Sometimes it seems that waves are all that we can see!  Our following of Christ may lead to great waves in our own lives, where all we seem to do is to make waves, to be in unfamiliar and uncharted territory, with even hostility around us.  This is a far cry from the idea that by following Christ we lead charmed or magical lives in which all goes the way we assume it "should."  Faith leads us to new places, instead.  It takes us where we likely would not have gone before.  But faith -- not our own good intentions or resolutions -- has a way of rendering us secure.  A life of prayer is that which roots us to this ship, even when we feel that Christ is asleep or not responding to us.  We anchor ourselves to this place with Him and renew our faith even when everything around us looks like it's against us.  It's a teaching that the one thing that is firm and upon which we hold as a foundation is Him.  He teaches us that it is faith, His love for us and our trust in Him, that roots us to what is truly secure -- even in a world that offers little real security in fact.   He has nowhere to lay His head; even those who are dear to us may pass and the things we thought important may take second place.  All kinds of things will arise to seemingly oppose our faith, but there is one place, one relationship in which we may take hold and place our faith and trust.  The journey will teach us greater faith, but to get there we need to face and go through our fears.   The only way to do this is through His guidance and safety, allowing His word and commands to lead the way.

You do not know what manner of spirit you are of

 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 that the next day, when they had come down from the mountain of Transfiguration, that a great multitude met Him.  Suddenly a man from the multitude cried out, saying, "Teacher, I implore You, look on my son, for he is my only child.  And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out; it convulses him so that he foams at the mouth; and it departs from him with great difficulty, bruising him.  So I implored Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not."  Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you?  Bring your son here."  And as he was still coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him.  Then Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and gave him back to his father.  And they were all amazed at the majesty of God.  But while everyone marveled at all the things which Jesus did, He said to His disciples, "Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men."  But they did not understand this saying, and it was hidden from them so that they did not perceive it; and they were afraid to ask Him about this saying.  Then a dispute arose among them as to which of them would be greatest.  And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a little child and set him by Him, and said to them, "Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me.  For he who is least among you all will be great."  Now John answered and said, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us."  But Jesus said to him, "Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side."

 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.    Cyril of Alexandria comments that Jesus sent messengers before His face, the disciples, so that they might learn about their mission for the future, as apostles who will go out to all the world.  Christ is aware that He will be rejected by these Samaritans.  Indeed the theme He has been enforcing to the disciples is that He will be rejected by the religious leadership at Jerusalem, and His face was set for the journey there.  But as we can see from the response of James and John, they need to learn the response He teaches them!  On Saturday we read that He taught them gracious and humble behavior ("Whoever receives this little child in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me.  For he who is least among you all will be great").  Here is an extension of this teaching, to how they are to deal with rejection in their mission as apostles to peoples around the world.

 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."  Here we have more examples of teaching about discipleship, about the mission that is ahead for His followers, after He is crucified.  The man who tells Him, "I will follow you wherever You go," is not prepared for the fullness of what it means to be a disciple or apostle.  Jesus teaches the rigors of this mission, that even He has no worldly security, and His followers will experience the same.  Loyalty to family, even conventional responsibilities like honor due to parents, will come second to this mission of faith, to the life of the Kingdom and loyalty to the service of Christ.  Finally discipleship asks us for a full-hearted response.  Delay ("looking back") is a failure to respond as needed, even for the kind of sentimental reason given here.    In a real sense, what Jesus emphasizes here is a break from the worldly, from convention, a different kind of life as the life of the Kingdom - and the rigors of mission. "Let the dead bury the dead" teaches us about a stark difference between the living Kingdom and life outside of it.

We may think of these earliest apostles and disciples as those subject to the greatest rigors possible for their mission.  They faced not just a hostile leadership of their own people, but also the rigors of mission to all the world.  Very shortly, these would lead to persecutions of various kinds.  Jesus is preparing them not just for mission but also for leadership of His Church.  They have a lot to learn about what kind of mission they're on, and the manner of spirit they are of.  Jesus' words give us a great hint here all about the Church and all about mission:  it's not merely a worldly mission; it is a spiritual mission into the world.   It is informed by what manner of spirit they are of.   They need grace and all that goes with it:  forbearance, sacrifice, responsiveness, patience, endurance, and so much more.  This is not a worldly power they go out in service of, but a gracious power from the God who is love, coming into the world and facing what is called "the prince of this world."  It is, in fact, a spiritual battle into which they enter -- but a spiritual battle is not fought on worldly terms of battle.  In that sense, a journey of faith as a follower of Christ becomes similar for each of us, the more deeply we go in this journey.  We may not all be formal apostles or evangelists, but the life of a disciple of Christ will take on characteristics we read about here in today's reading.  There may very well be times when we have to choose between what looks good to convention, what seems good in terms of family loyalty and the good things we know, like honor to father and mother, as in the example we're given above, and we have to make a choice between where our faith asks us to go and those "good" things.  Loyalty to "group" of any kind may be tested, subject to the choice between Christ's call and our world.   We clearly always have a lot to learn.  St. Paul tells us that "the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).   The precepts taught here, in my experience, will make themselves felt in our own lives, effectively asking us to choose in situations that try our souls, in some sense:  teaching us patience, forbearance, the difficulty of choosing loyalty to the Kingdom over other things we hold dear, asking us to respond wholeheartedly and without delay.  We must also learn "what manner of spirit we are are of," growing in grace and humility and the capacity to show mercy with a discerning heart.   We have help for all of these things, from the same Spirit to whom Jesus refers, the One who will guide the apostles, disciples, and pillars of the Church into their work after Pentecost.  But we each share in that overall mission, and we participate in God's grace as bearers of this Kingdom.  A truly great and precious creation is never without its discipline.  To serve Christ, to become truly a reflection of God's light in the world, isn't going to be easy or simple.  It's going to take work.  But its value is infinite, and that's the high price He puts on us, the investment of faith He makes in us.