No More Conditions

No More Conditions

Scripture

1 Kings 19:16,

1 Kings 19:19-21,

Galatians 5:1,

Galatians 5:13-18,

Luke 9:51-62.

Reflection

My dear sisters and brothers,

Today’s gospel is a sequence of four incidents:

1. The first incident is the encounter between the messengers of Jesus and the Samaritan villagers,

2. The second incident involves a man who says to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go,”

3. The third incident is that of the man who wanted first to go and bury his father before following Jesus.

4. Finally, there is the man who wants to go and say farewell to his family before following Jesus.

By these, we know that these not only mere incidents but also encounters with people.

They all wanted to follow Jesus.

It was a desire.

It was a wish.

It was an aspiration.

It was a want.

It was a need.

It was a longing.

It was a craving.

It was a plea.

It was a yearning.

Nevertheless, they all were held back by their concerns and their motives.

Each incident highlights a different concern.

1. The First Incident: Hatred

The first incident is the encounter between the messengers of Jesus and the Samaritan villagers.

What was the concern for the Samaritans?

The concern for the Samaritans is patriotism.

Samaritans and Jews were bitter enemies.

Perhaps, the Samaritan villagers had heard about Jesus.

The Samaritans had heard what Jesus and his disciples were doing.

The Samaritans had heard what Jesus and his disciples were interested in.

However, as soon as they learnt that Jesus and his disciples were Jews and were heading for Jerusalem, their appreciation turned into opposition.

Of course, patriotism and devotion for the national cause is a good thing.

At the same time, my dear sisters and brothers, when patriotism or cultural ideas or personal bias or preconceived opinion becomes the spectacle through which one sees all reality, including spiritual and eternal reality, then one is in danger of losing one’s own genuine perspective.

Therefore, the concern for the Samaritans is not patriotism but hatred.

Hatred cannot be a part of the Kingdom of God.

Love is a part of the Kingdom of God.

2. The Second Incident: Hunger for Security

The second incident involves a man who says to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go” (Luke 9:57):

Jesus replies, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Luke 9:58).

What was the concern of this man?

We need to ask another question in order to understand the concern of this man.

So, the question is:

Why did Jesus say, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head”?

Jesus perhaps observed that here was a man who valued money.

In other words, we can say that it is financial independence.

Jesus possibly perceived that this man was here for his own security.

Jesus could see with his eyes that there was no passion for God’s Kingdom.

The concern was for his own kingdom.

Nothing is wrong to have personal security.

It is a good thing to have high goals.

It helps to achieve one’s own security and at the same time motivates the other as well.

However, when security becomes an obstacle on our way to follow Jesus passionately, then it is wrong.

Therefore, we understand that the concern for this man is not passion and commitment but the concern for his security.

We as followers of Jesus need to depend on God’s providence in our lives by establishing the Kingdom of God.

Moreover, this is the way to witness the Kingdom of God.

3. The Third Incident: Religiosity

The third incident is that of the man who wanted first to go and bury his father before following Jesus.

Burying one’s parents is part of the command to “Honour your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12).

This man follows the Ten Commandments.

This man was of high moral principles.

This man kept the law.

This man is highly concerned of his religious duties.

Again, this is a very good virtue.

No one can deny that this man was a religious person in his life and wanted to keep it up till his last breath.

But Jesus says, “Let the dead bury their dead. But you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

What does Jesus say?

Jesus says that we should not allow religious observance and rituals to immobilise us.

Religious duties and rituals keep us from following Christ.

Jesus is always on the move into new territories and new challenges.

Jesus calls us to reach out to the periphery breaking all the barriers in our lives so that the Kingdom of God is alive.