When we were baptized, we were enrolled into the Lord’s school of discipleship where we learn to make our own the two primary values of His life: the Father and the Kingdom/Reign of God. The years of apprenticeship will cover the whole of our lives and will involve the death of our egoism and growth in a life of loving invested for others. This would involve too a great deal of conversion, of continuosly realizing that this or that attitude or "desire" though at one point thought to be legitimate is incompatible with the demands of one’s consecration. Thus progress in the school of discipleship is progress in lightening one’s baggage until only two remain: the Father and His Kingdom/reign.
Relevant Articles
Guide to the Reading of Luke 9:51-62
1. The selected passage can be divided into two parts: (a) The beginning of the journey to Jerusalem and the refusal of Samaritan towns to let him pass (vv. 51-56), and (b) the cost of discipleship (vv. 57-62)
2. Some Samaritan towns refuse the passage of Jesus and his disciples. Look at this map and see how Samaria is on the way to Jerusalem. To move around it meant crossing the Jordan and walking through the Decapolis. So instead of going through a relatively straight path, Jesus and companions will have to make a detour.
3. The brothers James and John propose that they call down fire from heaven as Elijah had done before. In 2 Kings 1:10.11, Elijah calls down fire on those sent to arrest him. He had earlier prevented the messengers of the king who were sent to inquire at the shrine of Baalzabul, god of Ekron. Jesus rejects this show of power, rebuking the brothers. When he was first rejected at Nazareth and almost killed, he simply walked away. He does the same here, as he made his way to less hostile regions to continue his journey.
4. In verses 57-62, Jesus talks with prospective disciples as he walks towards Jerusalem where he is to meet a prophet’s death. What he says in vv. 58, 60 and 62 are meant to be memorized. The first saying is about the lack of comfort zones in discipleship. Animals have their holes and dens, but the Son of Man does not even have a pillow for his head. Those who wish to follow him should be ready to experience this lack of security and comfort. The second saying is even harsher since it presupposes a break with family ties. The burial of one’s parents is important for a Jew, but even this should be subsumed to the proclamation of the kingdom of God. Finally, the saying about the plow presumes a break with one’s past and a total focus on working for the kingdom. Working with a plow meant looking forward, not backwards.
5. How are the above sayings related to other statements about following Jesus? See 9:23-26 and see how the sayings on the cost of discipleship compare with the sayings about following Jesus, Christ and Servant.
Review of the Readings
The first reading corresponds to the second part of the gospel reading. Elijah claims Elisha putting his cloak over him. This latter realizing what has transpired requests the prophet to allow him to say good-bye to his parents. The prophet sees in the request a refusal so he withdraws the claim "Go back" he said, "what have I done to you?" Right there and then, Elisha, slaughters the twelve oxen — a number which indicates the size of the land he was plowing and wealth — cooks them in the fire fuelled by his plow, and gives the food to his neighbors. Thus, Elisha begins his apprenticeship under Elijah with a complete break from his past.
Becoming a disciple of the Lord is to be free. The second reading from Paul to Galatians, with its omission of Galatians 5:2-12 emphasizes the freedom associated with the life in Christ. To be free is to be totally available for Christ. The challenge is not so much breaking away from parents or from comfort or from the past, but of choosing the Lord when parents, comfort and past run into conflict with the urgent demands of the kingdom.
Suggestions for the Lesson
During our baptism, the Church claimed us for the Lord with the sign of the cross. From that moment on we were united to Christ in his death and resurrection. All throughout our lives then, we are to die to ourselves so that the new life of Christ in us may grow stronger each day. It is for this reason that our parents were told that the first thing we should learn is the love of God and neighbor. For in loving, we truly die to our egoism, the desire to make ourselves the center of everyone’s attention and life. Our death then should become the culmination of a life-long process of dying to oneself, the perfect expression of our union with Christ in his death.
Christ’s claim on us in our baptism is total. From the moment we were signed with the cross, we became children of God. To be a son/daughter of God is to live a life of obedience to His will. We have become His children, not because of anything biological, but through the will of Him who intended each of us for Himself. Created in His image, redeemed in the Precious Blood of Christ, sanctified, brought into His holiness by the Holy Spirit, we were meant to participate in the freedom of the Spirit. No earthly ties no matter how legitimate these might seem, should keep us from obeying His will.
"Let your will be done … Let your kingdom come." Whenever we pray the "Our Father" we are affirming His claim upon us and our submission to His will. Through the "Lord’s Prayer" we should be interiorizing the two primary values of Christ: the Father and His kingdom/reign. Throughout our apprenticeship in the Lord’s school of discipleship, these two values should become the top priority of our lives. And when we have learned to subordinate even love for life for these two values, then we have become truly "other Christs".
Tags: discipleship, kingdom of God, luke
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