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Ordinarily when we read this passage we focus on what Jesus has to say first to the scribe and then to the disciple, but let's look instead at what Jesus is saying about Himself. In His first words, about how He has nowhere to lay His head, He seems to describe a life that is constantly changing, at least in terms of externals: no home, no family, no fixed income, nothing to depend on or to worry about in a material sense. His second statement, suggesting leaving people and family responsibilities behind, seems to indicate that He is focused only on what is ahead and on His ultimate goal and that there are even some human relationships that can and should be cut off for the sake of following Him. Knowing what we do about Jesus' values and His sense of mission, to describe Jesus on the basis of what He says here as being a radical seeker would not be a large leap --- but that is true only because He has already found what He is about. He is self-emptying, driven by love of His Father and of us, and is passionate about His mission. His identity is a burning love, a love that eliminates what is not essential, and that love is what He is offering to share with these two men and with us. If I approach this Jesus and ask Him for myself what I must do to follow Him more closely, what does He tell me? I can only know the answer to that question if I am faithful in prayer and constant in my own self-emptying... |