Luke 9: 51-62

Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. “For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.” And they went to another village. Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

In this Gospel, we are invited to contemplate the pilgrimage of Christian life and learn what being a disciple really means.  The disciples are challenged to learn a lesson of tolerance and understand that they must be willing to travel light and leave behind the comforts they may have enjoyed; anything that might have held them back from making the journey.  We are taught that our Christian journey is hard and will make demands on our tolerance and patience in the face of what we encounter.  We must travel light and focus on what is ahead of us rather than what we’ve left behind.  We must persevere the way that Jesus does on the road to Calvary.  Our Christian journey is a pilgrimage and God will speak to us through the events in our lives.  Are you listening for the purpose of hearing or are you listening but focused on multi-tasking and only catching bits and pieces?  When we take the time to slow down and listen, we hear.  What is God trying to tell you?  Do you proclaim the kingdom of God through your thoughts; words and actions?  Evangelization doesn’t have to be “in your face” preaching.  Often, people hear better when less is said.  People learn through watching behaviors.  An often said cliché is “walk the talk”.  Do you embody what being a brother or sister of Christ really means?  Are you Christ-like in your every day life?  This extends to the behaviors and thoughts we demonstrate when we face some sort of diversity.  Perhaps you are cut off while driving.  Is your first reaction to get angry and perhaps utter some indecencies or follow up with some hand gestures?  Are you enraged and attempt to “get even”?  OR do you accept that the behavior of the other person may not be intentional and make the necessary driving corrections to avoid conflict and then wish that driver safe travels through a prayerful thought?  We don’t often know what leads someone to behave in this fashion and Jesus was confronted with diversity every day during His travels.  He continued to travel His path regardless of the obstacles He faced.  How will you handle the obstacles you face?

May God bless you and provide you the strength to face the diversity of Christian life through His glory.