Let the Dead Bury the Dead

To another, he said, "Come, follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." But he said, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God." Another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but first let me first say farewell to those at home." Jesus said to him, " No one who sets his hand to the plow and then looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God."

(Luke 9:59-62)

In today’s hypersensitive and politically correct climate Jesus Christ would not fit in too well. He was often blunt and minced few words with His dealings with people particularly those in pretense and hidden agendas of the heart. He had little compassion for people who used excuses to wiggle their way out of honoring God before anyone or anything else.

Jesus began His ministry with astounding boldness. Preaching from the text of Isaiah, an Old Testament prophet, He infuriated the synagogue leaders to such an extent that they booted Him out of the service with intent to kill Him. He escaped harm, yet people viciously hated him seeing Him as a threat to their way of life.

The Jesus of the Bible expressed radical discipleship that put service to God before any other reflection. He proclaimed the gospel of the Kingdom of God first with His life and then with His words. Such a Kingdom demands our lives even to the renunciation any close relationship that deadens our zeal to live for Him. His discipleship has no back up or rear-view mirror.