Friday, June 28, 2013

XIII.O.T. 1 Kgs. 19:16,19-21; Gal. 5:1, 13-18; Lk.9:51-62

A guard in charge of a lighthouse along a dangerous coast was given enough oil for one month and told to keep the light burning every night. One day a woman asked for oil so that her children could stay warm. Then a farmer came. His son needed oil for a lamp so he could read. Another needed some for an engine. The guard saw each as a worthy request and gave some oil to satisfy all. By the end of the month, the tank in the lighthouse was dry. That night the beacon was dark and three ships crashed on the rocks. More than one hundred lives were lost. The lighthouse attendant explained what he had done and why. But the prosecutor replied, “You were given only one task: to keep the light burning. Every other thing was secondary. You have no excuse.”

Temptation is a choice between good and evil. But perhaps more insidious than temptation is conflict where one must choose between two good options. The lighthouse keeper in our story found himself in such a conflict situation. So also are the would-be disciples in today’s gospel story. In such cases the good easily becomes the enemy of the best.  One must then say no to a good thing in order to say yes to the ONE thing necessary. Today’s gospel is a sequence of four incidents and encounters with people who could have become followers of Jesus but who were held back by ulterior concerns and motives. Each encounter highlights a different concern.

The first incident is the encounter between the messengers of Jesus and the Samaritan villagers. The concern that holds the Samaritans back from accepting and following Jesus is patriotism. Samaritans and Jews were bitter enemies. The Samaritan villagers had probably heard about Jesus and what he was doing and were interested. But as soon as they learnt that Jesus and his disciples were Jews and were heading for Jerusalem, their admiration turned into opposition. Patriotism and devotion to the national cause is, of course, a good thing. But when national interest becomes the spectacle through which one sees all reality, including spiritual and eternal reality, then one is in danger of losing perspective. Some times people see things only in the light of political affiliations. Whatever wrong the party of my affiliation does, I blindly see them as good even if they stand in direct opposition to biblical and moral values. Which is happening in our country these days a lot.

The second incident involves a man who says to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replies, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Luke (9:57-58). Why did Jesus say that? Probably because he perceived that here was a man who valued financial independence and security. It is a good thing to have high economic goals so that one could provide adequately for oneself and for those under one’s care. Yet when this stands in the way of wholehearted following and service of God, then something is wrong. You cannot follow God without a  single hearted devotion.

The third incident is that of the man who wanted first to go bury his father before following Jesus. Burying one’s parents is part of the command to “Honor your father and your mother” (Ex:20:12). So here is a man with high moral principles, a man who keeps the law and is highly concerned for his religious duties. Again this is a very good virtue. Yet Jesus is saying that we should not allow religious observance to immobilize us and keep us from following Christ who is always on the move into new territories and new challenges.
Finally there is the man who wants to go and say farewell to his family before following Jesus. He wants to follow the example of Elisha who bid his family farewell before becoming Elijah’s disciple. Elijah threw his cloak over Elisha. The prophetic garment was a symbol of property rights. Elisha receives his state as both servant and possessor of Elijah’s powers of miracles. Elisha goes back home and takes a final fare well from all. He kills his oxen and breaks the yoke he used to plow, to cook the oxen, symbolically telling he is no more going to go back to resume this work any more but will be in God’s service ever after.
This man who wants to go back and say good bye to his family has high social and family values. One could only wish that all men could be this sensitive to let their families know their whereabouts at all times! Yet before the urgent call of the kingdom of God, social and family concerns take a back seat. 

These stories of extreme loyalty to one’s country or party, economic security, or even religious observance, or social and family concerns becoming hurdles to our loyalty to God are cases what Jesus disapproves. The call of Jesus to discipleship is characterized by complete self renunciation.  The response has to be   immediate and unconditional. We simply don't know where God will lead us or what he may ask us to do. When we join Christ's army, we have to hand him a blank check.

These stories show that to follow Christ is to follow him unconditionally. Do we have a clause “if’ in our following of Jesus ?  “I will follow Christ on the condition that …” If we can complete the sentence then we are in the same situation as any of these well-meaning but mistaken disciples. Jesus will not accept a second place in our lives. He will be first or nothing. It is all for Jesus or nothing at all. The discipleship of Jesus is unique in the magnitude of its reward.  And the journey is not that easy. Let’s seek his grace that we may learn to rely wholly upon God, plugging all our efforts in life into his grace. 

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