Commentary on the Gospel of
Follow me
The Gospel aims to urge us to submit to the Lord. Jesus, provides a reality check to the scribe who wants to follow him. His journey involves carrying the cross, emphasizing the cost of discipleship. The scribe appeared to make a generous offer - to accompany the Lord wherever he went. However, following him meant imitating him and being ready to have nothing of one's own.
To be with Jesus means accepting a situation where our security is not in our material wealth but in our faith in Jesus. "Let the dead bury their own dead" - it's not clear if the disciple wanted to wait until his father died, or if the father had already passed away and needed to be buried right away. In either scenario, Jesus considered those not dedicated to the Kingdom to be spiritually dead.
Procrastination can become a pattern: after his father’s death, he would find another excuse for delay and another….He is telling us: if you desire freedom, be free now! It is another way of Jesus communicating that our devotion to him must be absolute. How often do we hear justifications like, “Let me reach my retirement, and then I’ll become active in the Church?”
When Jesus calls, we must be ready to let go of everything, even our most cherished societal rituals and obligations. His call is not just a call to follow, but a call to a new way of life. Those who choose to pursue their own self-seeking ways, Jesus says, are spiritually dead. He urges us to leave the burial of the dead to them, to prioritize the call to the Kingdom, which represents a radical commitment to a higher set of values.
