July 01 – Monday, - Discipleship has no time-out - Wilson SVD

July 01 – Monday

Thirteenth Week in Ordinary time

Amos 2: 6-10, 13-16, Matthew 8: 18-22

In the first reading, Prophet Amos declares that the Lord is going punish the people on account of the following sins:

Lack of Morality

Lack of love for the poor

Lack of gratitude

Lack of respect for the house of God

In the gospel, Matthew records Jesus teaching on a familiar subject: Discipleship. Discipleship has been a challenging concept both in academics and in practice. Nevertheless, following Jesus is an important and blessed endeavour. The gospel passage today is comprised of three lessons on discipleship; expectations and hesitations, no time-out immediate and continuous obedience and call to persevere. 

One of the scribes boldly offers to follow Jesus wherever he goes. In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus is addressed as ‘Lord’ (κύριε). Whereas the scribe addresses Jesus as ‘teacher’ (διδάσκαλε).  Possibly, he seeks a tutor in Jesus, the one who can train him to be prosperous. Jesus addresses the scribe’s superficial enthusiasm and corrects his miscalculation of Jesus’ identity. Jesus says, ‘ I have no place to lay my head.’ This does not mean that Jesus is homeless or destitute, but the mission he is engaged in is long, tiring, non-profitable and has less possibilities for respite. Jesus is more than a teacher or preacher who can be learned from. Jesus is a social and religious reformer and saviour. Hence, following Jesus would mean having no time-out and no personal holiday but sharing in suffering, continuous sacrifice, constant mission, daily isolation and everyday loneliness. 

Jesus says to another disciple, ‘follow me’ (ἀκολούθει). Jesus denies the disciples' request to bury his father. Jesus is not against family responsibilities but is against the attitude of hesitation and postponement.  The Greek word is used in imperative form. It means not just following temporarily but demanding immediate and continued obedience. Keep following me. Jesus admonishes that once you have decided to follow, do not reverse course. This is a call to persevere. There is no such thing as ‘time out’ for disciples. Either one is following Jesus or not. This is not a part-time job or offer. Prophet Amos announced punishment for the Israelites because they treated covenantal faithfulness as a part-time endeavour. 

Our Take Away

1. Discipleship has no time-out.

2. Discipleship is immediate and continous obedience.

3. Discipleship does not reverse the course

Wilson SVD

Divine Word Missionary