The other said: "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." Jesus said, "Let the dead bury their own dead, you, however, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
Luke 9:59-60
Thought: Some people think that here Jesus lack regard for the man and his deceased father. But we must remember how Jesus faced death. For Jesus to death is not eternal, but the transition between the temporal and the eternal. The worst death is one in which people still walk in their sins. But the Kingdom of God is eternal and that is why it has priority. The urgency of calling people to the Kingdom, while it may decide, explains the attitude of Jesus - and should rule our own. Not that henceforth despise funerals or burials. But when Jesus calls me and I remember one 'other' commitment, raise a 'but', a "but, Lord ..." I'm not acting more as a disciple. This is the point.
Prayer: Father, as I remember situations in which, the last thing I wanted to do was go to a funeral. But I was, they knew it was there that the Lord wanted me. And there the Lord used me. Give me, Father, please, your sense of priority. Give me ears to hear the voice of Jesus when he calls or sends or wherever you go. On behalf of my Master I pray. Amen
