Committed?

A Reflection on Matthew 8:19-22

A scribe approached and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But Jesus answered him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead.” (Matt 8:19–22 NABRE)

     I can picture the energetic follower of Christ in Matthew’s Gospel as he passionately asserts; “I will follow you wherever you go.”(Matt 8:19 NABRE)  This is a young man who is caught up in the moment as he glimpses the divinity before him. He is passionately committed to the ideal but not necessarily so passionately committed to the work. He must have been confused at our Lord’s response; “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” (Matt 8:20 NABRE) You can almost hear the weariness in Jesus’ response. The Lord is asking; “are you really ready to go where I am going, to follow me all the way to not only my cross, but yours as well.”  Are you really committed? In the military, the word committed in combat has a very real and scary meaning. To be part of a force that is committed means that they cannot pull out, they have no other alternative but to fight and win. There is no looking back. Retreat is not an option!

     The Lord’s response must have deflated the exuberant man for we hear no more of him in the Gospels. However, Jesus’ frustration is exactly what needs to be conveyed. Certainly, our Lord wants passion, he wants us to be energetic; however, he also wants us to be realistic and understand what it means to follow him. Our Lord asks for unwavering commitment. In the Sunday Gospel we heard that “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:62 NABRE) Retreat, excuses, and equivocation are not an option if we are seeking the kingdom.

    What does commitment mean for a Christian? Certainly, it isn’t the level of commitment that the next potential follower displays in the Gospel.  He asks; “Lord let me bury my Father first.”  Really? Is he just now thinking about burying his father? The reality is it is just a nice way of seeking an honorable exit.

     Is it the level of commitment that we hear in the Psalm 50 where we proclaim one thing in words and then act in a completely different way when engaged in the world?  The Lord asks in the Psalm,

“Why do you recite my statutes, and profess my covenant with your mouth, though you hate discipline and cast my words behind you?” (Ps 50:16–17 NABRE)

     Is it the same level of commitment shown by Israel in the Book of Amos? The people who call God their Lord and piously worship in the temple yet; commit injustice and oppress the poor for monetary gain and engage in immorality with Father and Son going to the same prostitute. (Amos 2:6-9) There is no commitment. There is just lip service to faith and an active pursuit of sin!

     There are, however, many examples of commitment throughout sacred Scripture. Perhaps the best example of commitment is from our Blessed Mother.  When she is told that she is going to become the mother of God and bear Him as a child out of wedlock with all the social consequences that brought, her response is; “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me.”  (Luke 1:38 NABRE) She committed. When she is told by St Simeon that “you yourself a sword will pierce” (Luke 2:35 NABRE); Mary does not offer any excuse to avoid the pain, she is steadfast. Mary continues to walk the path God has given her, reflecting on all these things in her heart (Luke 2:19 NABRE).

     Listen to the commitment of St Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians.

“Five times at the hands of the Jews I received forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I passed a night and a day on the deep; on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own race, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers among false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many sleepless nights, through hunger and thirst, through frequent fasting, through cold and exposure.” (2 Cor 11:24–27 NABRE)

     Paul writes that “I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor 12:10 NABRE)

     Paul is committed! No turning back. Why? Because Paul serves God who is bigger than anything he can conceive of and who is also as close to us in love as we are to ourselves. God, who “alone stretches out the heavens and treads upon the crests of the sea” (Job 9:8 NABRE) and at the same time is willing to suffer and die in humiliation on a cross to save us. God is just as committed, unwavering, and faithful to us in love. Can we commit to Him?

      You might say that this all sounds fine and good, but this is asking a bit much, I am no St Paul. I would suggest that commitment is doable when made in constant but small acts of love. St Therese of Lisieux is oft quoted as saying that; “Holiness consists simply in doing God's will, and being just what God wants us to be.” (Wym, 2022)  Our commitment need only be to live as he asks; to proclaim Him publicly to the world in both words and deeds.

     Recently, I heard of a family that went to a local restaurant and began to pray in public, beginning and ending with the sign of the cross. When it came time for the bill, they were surprised when they found that it was paid. A note was penned on the check which read, “your family is a light of Christ’s love in this world, keep shining.”  Commitment does not have to be heroic. It simply calls for us to steadfastly and faithfully love God and our neighbor.

     Our call to follow the Lord is certainly not easy. Commitment is, however, nourished by Christ in the Mass and finds expression in the normal events of everyday life. No turning back. We may run into some obstacles and falter. However, we keep striving. The work of being a conduit of God’s love and grace into the world is too important. Christ asks today, “Will you follow me”? Our only answer must be, “yes Lord”! No equivocation. Christ is counting on us, on you! Commit!

End Notes

Westminster Youth Ministry (Wym). (2022, June 13). 36 inspiring quotes from St Therese of Lisieux. 36 Inspiring Quotes from St Therese of Lisieux. Retrieved June 24, 2022, from https://dowym.com/voices/inspiring-quotes-from-st-therese-of-lisieux/

New American Bible. Revised Edition (NABRE). Washington, DC: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2011. Print.