Let the Dead Bury Their Dead

Monday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Still Abraham went on, “Since I have thus dared to speak to my Lord, what if there are no more than twenty?”  He answered, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”  But he still persisted: “Please, let not my Lord grow angry if I speak up this last time.  What if there are at least ten there?”  He replied, “For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it.”  Genesis 18:31-33

A scribe approached and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”  Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”  Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”  But Jesus answered him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead.”  Matthew 8:19-22

Piety

Every heart needs to be set free, from possessions that hold it so tight
'Cause freedom's not found in the things that we own, It's the power to do what is right
Jesus, our only possession, giving becomes our delight
We can't imagine the freedom we find from the things we leave behind

We show a love for the world in our lives by worshipping goods we possess
Jesus has laid all our treasures aside "love God above all the rest"

'Cause when we say 'no' to the things of the world
we open our hearts to the love of the Lord and it’s hard to imagine the freedom we find from the things we leave behind

(From “The Things We Leave Behind,” by Michael Card)

Study

Our excuses are nothing new.  People have been challenging the Lord since…well the beginning of Sacred Scripture. 

Abraham challenged the Lord’s threatened punishment of sinners. He advocated to bring out the Lord’s mercy on other people.  Yet, in the Good News, we hear how people put all kinds of obstacles up when asked to follow the Lord.  Just as we do, they come up with all kinds of reasons to procrastinate. 

The Lord more readily showed His mercy when Abraham was advocating on behalf of others than when people were coming up with personal excuses to put their personal agenda ahead of what the Lord requires – acting justly, loving mercy and walking humbly with God.  

If this sounds familiar, today we have a passage from Matthew which mirrors the words in the Gospel of Luke read at Sunday Mass…just yesterday.  The Church fathers must feel this is a particularly important message to repeat it on consecutive days. 

Action

Many times, we think that only the external world places diversions along our path in order to distract us from the mission of living a life of piety, study and action.  However, the dangers are not only external.  The diversions also are internal.  We all have personal egos that get in the way.  What we want to do is not always what we need to do.

What part of your personal agenda can you set aside to bring your “following” to life this week?