REFLECTIONS TODAY
A scribe, one who knows the Torah of Moses, approaches Jesus with a request to follow him. His case is quite different from that of the other disciples whom Jesus personally calls. Elsewhere, Jesus says, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit” (Jn 15:16). Jesus answers in a form of a mashal, a kind of wisdom saying or comparison. His condition as the Son of Man is opposite of that of animals which, though living in the open, find a place of refuge. Foxes (Greek alōpekes) are wild animals that have refuge in ruins, while birds of the sky have nests among the trees. Pilgrims going to the Temple in Jerusalem compare their desire to seek the welcome and protection of God to the instinct of birds to find a secure place: “As the sparrow finds a home and the swallow a nest to settle her young, my home is by your altars, Lord of hosts, my king and my God!” (Ps 84:4). While it is natural for a man to have a place of welcome and security, except in time of war or calamity, Jesus, as an itinerant preacher who shares the poor man’s ways and lives as a “servant” of God, chooses the precarious human condition in radical faithfulness to his mission. Hence, one who wishes to follow him will take the road he has taken.
Gospel • Matthew 8:18-22
When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other shore. 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.”
Source: “366 Days with the Lord 2024,” St. Paul’s, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; E-mail: [email protected].