In the Gospel today from Matthew, a scribe wants to follow Jesus “home,” but Jesus really does not have an Earthly home to retreat to. Also in the Gospel, a potential follower of Jesus wants to follow Jesus, but wants to bury his Father first. Jesus was not receptive to waiting until after the Burial. The time to follow Jesus is now.
Major Conditions
Two major human conditions- property/home and death are seemingly glossed over so that we can follow Jesus now—with urgency. No excuses, do it now. Easier said than done for most of us.
We should do our best to follow Jesus, but often we get too busy with “busy-ness.” We do not make time to pray, or go to Adoration, and we are tempted to skip Mass (the Eucharist) or skip out of volunteer activities in our Parish. Sound familiar? Of course we need to Love our Lord, Let Him Love us, and love each other but we still need to do some Churchy things as part of our outward obligations.
Perhaps the subject of the readings today is the much-needed reminder to get our priorities straight.
