The would-be followers of Jesus

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.”

REFLECTION I WILL FOLLOW YOU. There are two persons in the story: One wants to follow Jesus everywhere; the other is called by Jesus but is bogged down by family concerns. Both are made to realize that following Jesus involves having to pay a “price.” There is the price of comfort and of security; there is also the price of close or intimate relationships with loved ones. Following Jesus is not a lukewarm engagement or a “seasonal” enterprise: it is a full commitment that can challenge our values and priorities.

True discipleship is a challenge for every follower of Christ. Often, in life, we are torn by many commitments; we want security and fulfillment in what we do. And so, it happens that most of us navigate in the sea of “part-time” and calculated discipleship. But Jesus challenges us to make the leap into more genuine discipleship.

Is your faith deep enough to entrust yourself totally to Jesus in radical discipleship? What has prevented you from following Him more closely?