Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
Gospel of Luke
Upon the first reading of this Gospel scripture, Jesus seems abnormally harsh in His requirements to be a follower. "Let the dead bury their own dead" Jesus says to the one who requested that he first be allowed to bury his father.
In order to understand this Gospel, we have to first understand that it has little or anything to do with providing a funeral service for a parent, or saying good-bye to relatives and friends. It has to do with what we feel is important; our attachments. Jesus understood human nature well. He knew that if we are driven by an attraction to one thing, then that thing, whatever it might be, would be given preference over other things. In fact, what we are "attracted" to, often hides from our view those other things that may be of greater importance. That's why Jesus said to His disciples: "No one can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; You cannot serve both God and money".
There's nothing wrong with money. It is merely a medium of exchange to provide for our needs. But if money becomes our master, then God and His Kingdom will not be revealed to us because we will be consumed by our attraction to money.
We see this all the time with our human emotions. It's very hard if not impossible to experience two contradictory emotions at one time. If I really love you, it is almost impossible to hate you at the same time. The reverse of this is also true. If I really hate you, it is impossible to love you at the same time. So it is with our awareness of the Kingdom of God. God is all around us. God is present in all things including ourselves. God manifests His presence to all people at all times. His love is ever present but many have no experience of this. Why is this? Because we have become blinded by our attraction to other things.
Our task, of course, is not to pass judgement on those who have difficulty experiencing God, or to consider them lessor than ourselves. Our task is to reveal to them, in the manner of our own lives, that there is something more important that they may not be seeing.
This was Jesus' mission, to reveal to us that the Kingdom of God is at hand; that it is among us. Jesus became the "way" to that realization through the life that He lived. So now Jesus asks us to follow Him in this "way" in order to make His Kingdom visible to others. "But you go, and proclaim the Kingdom of God".
When I was working, I often ran into people who would say: I admire your faith and I should go to church. Well, maybe after retirement. I'll have more time then. Right now, I'm just too busy with my job and family. I just don't have time to pray right now.
These are the people that Jesus was speaking about in the scripture above. I want to follow you, but I still have the responsibilities for my parents. When they are dead and gone, I'll have more time. Or let me say farewell to my relatives and friends; Perhaps then I can join you.
Really, what has one to do with the other? We are not making a choice between our parents, relatives, friends and God.
In following Christ, we are acknowledging that we have discovered something much more attractive, much more important, and much more fulfilling than all those other things and events that compete for our attention. We have discovered the treasure hidden in the field. We have discovered the Pearl of Great Price, and we so much want to share this treasure with those we meet, including our parents, family and friends if need be. And we are willing to sell off, or "let go" of our other things in our lives, to buy the field which contains the treasure.
We cannot offer to others what we ourselves do not possess. Discover within yourselves God's Kingdom. Discover within yourselves the Presence of God. Be energized by a renewal of your own faith, and then we have something to share, to be a witness to with parents, relatives and friends and all others we meet.
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