Monday, June 30, 2003
13th Week in Ordinary Time

1st Reading: Gen 18:16-33
Gospel: Mt 8:18-22

When Jesus saw the crowd press around him, he gave orders to cross to the other shore. A teacher of the Law approached him and said, "Master, I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."

Another disciple said to him, "Lord, let me go and bury my father first." But Jesus answered him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

Commentary

When we follow Jesus, he leads us along less trodden paths. He leads us away from the "comfort zones" of our quiet, ordinary existence. This is not another foolhardy adventure, a daredevil attempt to excite our senses. It is faith in a Person whose life and teaching show us the way to fulfillment. Those who live a life vowed to poverty, chastity and obedience are a potent testimony that Jesus is worth leaving great human and earthly values for. Yet renunciation is not just for them. Some relationships to things and persons are simply not compatible with our desire and struggle to be more like Jesus. We are to give them up. "Run, therefore, intending to win it, as athletes who impose upon themselves a rigorous discipline. Yet for them the wreath is of laurels which wither, while for us, it does not wither" (1Cor 9:25).

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