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

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 it happened on the next day, when they had come down from the mountain (of the 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.  We must remember where we are, exactly, in Jesus' ministry.  He's revealed twice now to His disciples that He will suffer at the hands of the leadership in Jerusalem, and be killed, and on the third day rise.  It seems that, in yesterday's reading, He was preparing the disciples to become the leaders of His Church that He will require after His ascension to the Father.  Here is another example of preparation of these men.  They do not know what manner of spirit they are of.  His Kingdom isn't going to be ruled by a "worldly" sort of power, the manipulative power of destruction that signals a king capable of powerful warfare.  Their emphasis will be to save.  And so, they walk on, to another village that will perhaps be more receptive to the good news of the Kingdom, the gospel.  The event referred to in which Elijah commanded fire to come down from heaven is to be found in 2 Kings 1:12.

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 notes here that there is a cost to discipleship.  Jesus reveals three of them:  (1)  a disciple relinquishes personal or earthly security -- if the Lord has nowhere to lay His head, neither will the disciple.  (2)  Nothing -- and that means not even the honor that is due to parents  -- can be an obstacle to serving the Lord.  (3)  A disciple can't delay in accomplishing the good that Christ demands.   We note that when Christ's commands are met with resistance in His followers, His response is to teach, to instruct. 

Again Jesus' encounters serve to boost the faith of the disciples, or rather to teach them what kind of faith is going to be required of them as leaders of His Church.  Each encounter serves as a signpost, a lesson, a kind of emphasis on what sort of men (and women, we remember, are also a part of this ministry) are required for this service, the spreading of the word of the Kingdom.  Our security is in the serving of the Lord, and nothing else, as my study bible notes, can take away this top priority before all things.  Christ Himself has no home; this king is far from a luxurious castle or landholdings, properties, goods, trade, military conquests.  His is a different life, committed to a different sort of kingdom, one that is not seen but nevertheless known and built by faith.  And it's that rock of faith that He's building up, that unbreakable bond between Lord and disciple, built on faith.  And that's why nothing should get in the way of this bond, and everything must serve it:  it's the root of all else to come, the confidence we build up in our lives, the one unshakeable thing.  And this is what He wants from us, a kind of commitment that doesn't let anything else get in the way -- even a commitment in which there are no second thoughts, no hesitation after "putting one's hand to the plow."  It reminds us of the story of Lot's wife, who "looked back" to her old life, and was turned into a pillar of salt.  We could extrapolate from this example, and what it means to be a "pillar of salt," something lacking all moisture, the living water of the Spirit that we are truly "of."  Jesus elaborates, in today's reading, what manner of spirit we are to be of:  prepared, quick to respond to the commands of this Spirit and this Kingdom, fully in and committed, putting nothing else -- not even a memory of the past -- between us and our commitment to God and to the future He brings into the world, the life of the Kingdom.  This may sound terribly harsh, but we remember what manner of spirit we are of -- this is the work of saving, not destroying.  This is the work of the One who is love, who teaches love, who builds up a kingdom of peace.  That's what we learn and where our faith must take us.  As in the example of today's reading, it's not that kind of fire that destroys, but a kind of fire that saves that this Spirit will bring into the world, like the example of the bush that didn't burn when fire appeared to Moses.  This is a spirit of fire that burns with love, that purifies in order to save.  That is the fire in which we participate as those who live with faith in Him, His mission, His kingdom.  It gives us strength, urgency, a confidence in which we serve that which burns in our hearts.  Let us remember His words and His teachings, and what manner of spirit we are of.

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 the sea obey Him?"

- Matthew 8:18-27

Yesterday's reading gave us examples of three tremendous healings by Jesus, three miraculous healings. They come immediately after the Sermon on the Mount (see all the readings that follow The Beatitudes). Jesus healed a leper, the servant of a centurion, and Peter's mother-in-law. Then many brought the demon-possessed to Him, and He healed them with a word - and also many other illnesses. With the centurion, Jesus marveled: "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." See Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.

And when Jesus saw great multitudes about Him, he gave a command to depart to the other side. This isn't the first time in the Gospel that we're told there are great multitudes following Jesus. In yesterday's reading, when we're told Jesus is coming down from the mountain after the Sermon on the Mount, great multitudes were also following Him. So we know of His great popularity at this time. Here, He decides that He will travel to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

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." In this passage, we're taught that a man of learning, of the Law, a scribe comes to Him and declares ardently His devotion. Scribes themselves were authorized to teach, so this is a tremendous compliment. Jesus implies here the greater commitment that will be asked of the scribe to become His disciple: His poverty for the sake of the Gospel. Jesus is not a part of the mainstream, not a part of the institutions of the religious, and so has no real home or house or property to speak of. He hasn't got the social status or recognition that comes from being a part of the Temple authority or the Jewish religious establishment. While the scribe professes that He will follow Jesus wherever He goes, He must be prepared in discipleship to go further than he may expect. My study bible makes a note on the term "Son of Man" that Jesus uses for Himself here. "Since Son of Man refers to the Messiah (Dan. 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." No doubt the scribe knows full well the term Son of Man. He calls Jesus "Teacher" -- but Jesus opens up to Him more of His identity, and reveals a messianic secret to one who may perhaps begin to understand.

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." Here is another great example of what it is to be asked to go beyond what one may expect in discipleship. Both this example and the one with the scribe indicate perhaps hardship and certainly sacrifice. The scribe may enjoy a great place in his profession in the temple, an honored place. Here this disciple wishes to go home and bury his father. My study bible points out that this isn't negating the command to honor parents. It says, "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." We may consider that we are unaware of the circumstances of this disciple's family. We also remember that the second occasion when Jesus will marvel (the first was in yesterday's reading -- at the faith of the centurion) is in the lack of faith He will find among His own, in His own hometown. But the message is clear from both examples here, of this disciple and the scribe: in discipleship we may encounter times when we are called beyond the places we feel prepared to go, and especially in making sacrifices we haven't previously understood, things and values and ways of thinking and being we might hold very dear. We may have to make a choice between the "pearl of great price" and other things we value if it comes down to that. In the lives of the apostles, such choices will be commonplace. We may not always understand how or why we are called one way or the other, just that we are faced with the choice.

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!" Taken up to this point, this story is a reminder of the sacrifices (especially of security in one form or another) we may feel called to make, the times when our emotions storm up in us due to outside forces beyond our control. In a life of faith, everything is not in our hands alone. We may not feel prepared to go through the things that we will experience, and that life will present to us.

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?" Jesus addresses all of our fears here. This question could possibly be asked many times in a lifetime of faith! My study bible points out that this scene is often depicted as characteristic of the Lord and His Church as a whole: It has often gone through storms and needed deliverance. Let us understand Jesus' human condition and the tremendous ministry we have so far witnessed. He also needs sleep! "His inactivity," says my study bible, "intensified the disciples' fear, giving this miracle a greater impact." Rebuking the winds and seas reminds us again of Jesus' divinity, and teaches us -- in the image of the Lord and His Church -- to remember what faith embraces as a whole, in just Whose hands our lives remain. Faith calls on us to expand that understanding in the mystery of this scene taken as a whole. We may often feel threatened one way or another, but faith will stretch us in our reliance on God for the outcome. Now it is the disciples' turn to "marvel."

So, today's reading as a whole gives us a perspective on what it is to encounter the tests to our faith that may occur in discipleship. We may be called upon to do things and go places that strip us of the familiar, of the comforts we're used to. This may happen on a personal, physical, social or psychological basis. And, powerfully enough in this reading, these may be things we are asked to forgo, to sacrifice, for the sake of the kingdom. We may not know why or how, exactly, this works, just that we are called upon to go this way in His Way, as we "Follow Him." In this way, our faith is stretched, taken beyond our own thoughts of our limits, pulled in new directions so that we understand ourselves better than we do now. How has faith stretched you? Has it taken you to places you didn't expect, or asked of you sacrifices you hadn't considered? In so doing, do you face your own fears? Let us remember the picture of the disciples with Christ in the boat. We may feel that God is "sleeping" - not present to us. But all of this has the effect of stretching our faith, taking us to new places, exploring our own capabilities as disciples. Can we wait on God? Can we rest in prayer? In our own inevitable fears, can we choose to hold on to faith? God may take us where we hadn't known we were capable of going. How has God called on you to serve, and where has it taken you in your own understanding of who you are, and who you are called to be or to become? Let us remember that He has shared it all with us, first.