Leave-taking of the Feast of the Entrance of the Most Holy Mother of God into the Temple; Our Holy Father and Priest-Martyr Clement, Pope of Rome (101); Peter, Bishop of Alexandria (312).
Nativity Fast.
Galatians 3:8-12; Luke 9:57-62.
Read Luke 9:57-62
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
Luke the Evangelist sets before our eyes three examples of people who potentially could become Christ’s disciples, but wasted their opportunities for three different reasons. Therefore, if we want to follow Jesus, we need to take into account the lesson of the passage we just read in accordance to which it is critically important to put God on the first place in our lives, to act without hesitation, and to be prepared to various challenges and sacrifices that always accompany any authentic Christian life.
By saying to the first candidate that “the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head,” Jesus very honestly warns anyone who wants to become a real Christian to “count the cost” and to consider all the consequences. He never promised that our life as Christians will be easy. To follow Him means to carry our crosses and to be prepared to make difficult choices, since Christ’s demands are as high as they could be. Being a Christian in the contemporary world presupposes that one must be ready to become a black sheep among the wolves. From the human point of view, there is very little comfort in it, as “having nowhere to lay our heads,” but from the spiritual perspective this is precisely a proper way that leads to the genuine comfort of our soul.
The second candidate to the discipleship asked Jesus to allow him to bury his father which in itself was an honorable thing to do. Yet, in all probability his father was not even nearly dead. In the East, it was customary not to leave the parent’s house until they die. “Let me bury my father” could mean “let me stay with my parents and look after them for another couple years, until they actually die.” How often we come across a crucial moment in our lives when we are expected to take a stand or to make a decision, but we postpone our action until another better time which can never happen again. If we feel that God is calling us to something very important, we should act immediately and without hesitation or we may never have this opportunity again.
Eventually, the third man puts his relatives higher than God, and by doing so he makes himself impotent of making sacrifice for the higher cause. We certainly have obligations and responsibilities with regard to “those who are in our homes.” However, in accordance with the first commandment we should not make idols out of anything or anyone in our lives. We owe respect and care to our loved ones, but our worship, adoration and obedience belongs solely to God. If we have to make a choice between fulfilling the will of our relatives or God, our response as Christians should be in favor of the latter.
When we look back at our lives, we could easily realize that there could be nothing worse than a lost chance or a wasted opportunity. It is so painful to think about our past and our life in general in terms of “should’ve, could’ve, would’ve”. What is why it is so critical to be courageous enough to act “here and now.” Often we do not fully understand or know why God is calling us and what consequences this calling may cause, but sometimes all we need to do is to make a leap of faith fully relying on the One who calls.
Bible References