Thirteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time
LUKE 9:51-62
Up to this time in Luke^s gospel the ministry of Jesus has been centered on Galilee, his home province. Luke opens a new section of his gospel. It is called "Journey to Jerusalem." He begins, "When the days drew near for him to be received up, he set his face for Jerusalem." The phrase "to be received up" recalls a recently preceding episode - the transfiguration of Jesus. During the transfiguration Moses and Elijah appeared in glory with Jesus and "spoke of his departure (exodus) which was to happen in Jerusalem." The time was at hand for Jesus' exodus from the world to the Father. Jesus knows this must happen in Jerusalem. Therefore, "He set his face for Jerusalem." But why only in Jerusalem? The reason, at least in Luke's theology, is found in Luke 13:33, "...it cannot be that a prophet perish away from Jerusalem."
The shortest route from Galilee in the north to Jerusalem in the south was through a province that separated the two - Samaria. For historical reasons going back centuries, there was animosity between the two peoples, even though they were closely related.Jesus and Co. walk south through Samaria. When a Samaritan town discovers that they were en route to Jerusalem, they close the town gates - no food, no refreshments. James and John recall an episode from 2 Kings 1:10, where the prophet Elijah calls fire down from heaven to bum up troops sent to arrest him. The two vengeful teenagers ask Jesus, "Do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?" They have much to learn before they themselves will be consumed for Jesus. He rebukes them and they move on.
En route to Jerusalem Jesus encounters three potential disciples. The first one says, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus does not reject him, but reminds him of the difficulties he would encounter in following him, "Foxes have holes, and birds.. .have nests, but the Son of man (Jesus) has nowhere to lay his head." The following of Jesus, or today, being a committed Christian, may require a dedication so complete that there can be no attachment even to one's own bed. "Moving On" would be a good motto for this kind of life. In the first encounter the man invited himself. In the second encounter Jesus extends an invitation, "Follow me."He replies, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father."
This invitation and response determined the choice of today's first reading from 1 Kings 19:19-21. The prophet Elijah (9th century B.C.) seeks out his successor, a young farmer named Elisha. Elijah threw his cloak over the young man as a symbol of adopting him for the mission of a prophet. Elisha responds, "Let me kiss my father and mother goodbye, and I will follow you." Elijah is not pleased, but he does not reject the young man. Like Elijah in 1 Kings, Jesus gives a harsh sounding reply, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." How can we make this harsh reply acceptable to our sensitivity? Perhaps like this: Jesus uses exaggeration, a common tool among Jewish teachers, to make the point that being a Christian demands full attention and full dedication. Not to forget: in Luke 18:20 Jesus also implies approval of the man who kept the commandment, "Honor your father and your mother/'
A third man encounters Jesus en route to Jerusalem, and says,"I will follow you. Lord, but let me first say goodbye to those at home." Jesus replies, "He who puts his hand to the plow and looks backward is not fit for the kingdom of God." This third encounter is also based on the Elijah/Elisha story oftoday^s first reading. Elisha was plowing with a group of farmers guiding twelve teams of oxen. He guided the last (twelfth) team. He left the plow. After a brief detour, he followed Elijah. The point Luke makes in all three encounters is that Christian life demands our full attention. Generally we are not called to exclude our families in following Jesus. We incorporate them into our Christian life, as Jesus incorporates them into his life.
1 KINGS 19:16K 19-21
Reference to this reading was made in the above commentary. Additional comment is useful. The mantle (cloak) of the prophet was thought to have absorbed the power of the prophet. Throwing his cloak over Elisha transferred Elijah's prophetic miracle-working power to Elisha. The slaughtering of the oxen and the burning of the yoke of the oxen symbolized his break with his former life. He was now totally committed to the work of a prophet. There was no looking back.
GALATIANS5:L 13-18
Elisha burned the yoke taken from the shoulders of the oxen to symbolize a break with the past. Paul reminds the Galatian Christians not to submit again to the yoke of slavery. For Paul, the yoke consisted of the material observance of Old Testament law. Christians, he says, are free of that yoke. A dangerous position which can easily lead to sexual immorality, or as Paul phrases it, "an opportunity for the flesh." Paul himself indicates that the spirit of the laws of the Old Testament continues to live, when he writes, "Tor the whole law (Torah) is fulfilled in one statement, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." The Torah is now fulfilled out of love, not out of fear of punishment.
