Thirteenth Sunday of the Ordinary Time [C]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
June 30, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luke 9:51-62<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today we listen to one of the most demanding and perhaps harsh Jesus\u2019\nteachings. For those who follow Him, He demands total allegiance, and He shall\nbecome no less than their top priority in life. In both Jewish and Christian\ntradition, to honor our parents is one of the highest commandments. In fact, it\nis not a mere honoring, but it is to glorify [Hebrew word used is \u201ckabad\u201d] our\nparents. But, when a man asks Jesus to bury his father, Jesus tells him, \u201cLet\nthe dead bury the dead.\u201d To one who requests to say goodbye to his family,\nJesus says, \u201cNo one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left\nbehind is fit for the kingdom of God.\u201d Very harsh. Is this truly Jesus whose\nheart is moved with pity towards the poor people? Is Jesus no longer observing the Ten\nCommandments?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We may uncover the reason at the beginning of the Gospel reading. Jesus knows\nthe time has come for Him to go to Jerusalem, and He has set His face toward\nthis city that will persecute, torture, and kill Him. The way of the cross has\nbegun, and for those who wish to follow Him, it is no longer time to be amused\nby His miracles or to be inspired by His preaching. They who desire to follow\nJesus, shall also carry their cross with Jesus, and to walk with Jesus to His\nCalvary, one cannot but surrender their lives to Jesus and make Jesus\u2019s mission\nas their utmost concern. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, we need to clarify also Jesus\u2019 remarks that may sound too\nharsh. When Jesus says, \u201cLet the dead bury the dead,\u201d most probably the parent\nof that man is still very much alive, and he wishes to follow Jesus after his\nparent passes away. A subtle excuse not to follow Jesus. When Jesus says, \u201cNo\none who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for\nthe kingdom of God,\u201d Jesus is alluding to the story of Elijah who called Elisha\nto follow him [1 Kgs 19:19-21]. When a prophet calls, the one summoned must\nrespond immediately. Otherwise, the opportunity is gone for good. Jesus also\npoints to the story of Lot\u2019s wife. When the city of Sodom and Gomorrah were\ndestroyed by God, the angel instructed Lot and his family to run and not to\nlook back, and yet, his wife looked back. She became the pillar of salt [Gen\n19:26]. Someone cannot effectively follow God\u2019s words and new life in Christ if\nhe always looks back and attaches himself to the past. Jewish farmers also know\nwell the irony that when one plows the soil and keeps looking back at the\nresult, he will just ruin the entire field. It is when one is focused and\ndetermined in his goal and decision, he will get the best result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is a story of an angel who appears to John. The angel said, \u201cJohn,\nGod calls you to serve Him.\u201d John said, \u201cNot now, I am still 18, and I want to\nfocus on my study.\u201d Then, the angel came again after some years. John said,\n\u201cNot now, I am just 30, and I have my career.\u201d Then, the angel appeared again\nafter some year. John said, \u201cNot now. I am just 40, and I have my family.\u201d\nThen, the angel returned for the last time when John was 70. John said, \u201cNow, I\nam ready to answer God\u2019s calling.\u201d The angel responded, \u201cYes, God calls you,\nbut not to serve Him, but to see Him!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Christian who has a lot of excuses for Jesus is not a real Christian.\nIt is only when we follow Him with determination, walk on His way of the cross\nwithout excuse, make Him as our top priority, we can humbly say that we are His\ndisciples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deacon Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thirteenth Sunday of the Ordinary Time [C]
\nJune 30, 2019
\nLuke 9:51-62<\/p>\n
Today we listen to one of the most demanding and perhaps harsh Jesus\u2019 teachings. For those who follow Him, He demands total allegiance, and He shall become no less than their top priority in life. In both Jewish and Christian tradition, to honor our parents is one of the highest commandments. In fact, it is not a mere honoring, but it is to glorify [Hebrew word used is \u201ckabad\u201d] our parents. But, when a man asks Jesus to bury his father, Jesus tells him, \u201cLet the dead bury the dead.\u201d To one who requests to say goodbye to his family, Jesus says, \u201cNo one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.\u201d Very harsh. Is this truly Jesus whose heart is moved with pity towards the poor people? Is Jesus no longer observing the Ten Commandments?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[57,58],"class_list":["post-8638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-renungan","tag-english","tag-sunday-reflection"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8638"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8638\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8639,"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8638\/revisions\/8639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lubukhati.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}