Gospel of the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
“When the days drew near for Him to be taken up, He set His face to go to Jerusalem. And He sent messengers ahead of Him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for Him; but the people would not receive Him, because His face was set toward Jerusalem. And when His disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to bid fire come down from Heaven and consume them?’ But He turned and rebuked them. And they went on to another village.
As they were going along the road, a man said to Him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ And Jesus said to Him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has nowhere to lay His head.’ To another He said, ‘Follow me.’ But He said, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’ But He said to Him, ‘Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God’” (Lk 9:51-62).
I – Jesus Sets Out for Jerusalem
The Gospel passage that the Church presents this Sunday highlights an important landmark in Our Lord’s life.
Until this time, Jesus had travelled Galilee, “doing good” (Acts 10:38) wherever He went. He multiplied loaves twice, and performed countless other miracles. He left no request unheeded, nor any repentant soul unforgiven. This brought Him extraordinary fame, of which He could have derived great advantage.
Yet, as Fr. Truyols points out, “from the second multiplication, and, even to some degree, starting with the sermon on the Bread of Life in the synagogue of Capharnaum, He began to lead a more recollected life, particularly focussed on the instruction of His Apostoles.”1 It was from within this context that the first two announcements regarding the Passion and the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor were given (cf. Lk 9:22-45).
In the verses chosen for today, Our Lord sets out on a long journey toward Judea which will mark the beginning of His return to the Father. From this moment onward, all events in the life of Our Lord transpire on another level.
Firmness in fulfilling the Father’s will
“When the days drew near for Him to be taken up, He set His face to go to Jerusalem.”
Jesus set out for Galilee knowing that this would be His last trip to Jerusalem. He walked resolutely toward death, as the words of this verse indicate: “He set His face to go.”2
From the first instant of His earthly existence, He was fully aware that His mission would culminate on the Cross. From its height, Christ would win eternal life for us—creatures whom He loved to the point of desiring to make us His brothers; and the Church, which He had already begun to found in choosing the Twelve Apostles and preaching the Kingdom of Heaven, would be consolidated as the centre of history, for all centuries.
Before the prospect of atrocious sufferings, Jesus neither manifested complaint nor showed horror, repulsion or inconformity. As Cardinal Gomá aptly points out, “Jesus knew that torments and death awaited Him in Jerusalem; but despite this, He went up to the feast with complete liberty and a fearless and unwavering resolution, knowing that it was the will of the Father.”3
Seeking to draw a beautiful moral lesson from this passage, this commentator adds: “This should be our willingness of spirit as soon as the will of God becomes known. Conviction of the intelligence and the firm resolution of the will are the driving forces for great undertakings and the explanation of fruitful lives.”4
Jesus is Order in substance
… “And He sent messengers ahead of Him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for Him.”
Our Lord is Order in substance. Without ever letting Himself be caught up in the partial or inferior aspects of problems, He ordered all things on earth perfectly, yet organically, respecting the customs of the time and place.
In an era in which today’s efficient means of communication did not exist, He had to send messengers to arrange lodging for the large entourage that accompanied Him, made up of the Apostles, disciples, holy women and perhaps even some curious individuals.
Of the three main routes connecting Galilee to Jerusalem, Jesus opted for the shortest, which passed through the Valley of Jezreel followed by Samaria. It was in a village of this region, probably in present day Jenin, that the emissaries entered to prepare for the arrival of the Divine Master.
The Samaritans refused to receive Jesus
“…but the people would not receive Him, because His face was set toward Jerusalem.”
The inhabitants of Samaria harboured hostility toward the Jewish people, because of the great differences regarding the Law and Mosaic customs of the two peoples. A Samaritan would never go to offer sacrifices in Jerusalem, but rather in the temple on Mount Gerizim, near present-day Nablus.
Knowing that Jesus and His disciples were heading to Jerusalem, the village inhabitants concluded that they were Jews on their way to the true Temple to adore God, and decided not to receive them. According to Fillion, who cites Flavius Josephus, the Samaritans “took perverse pleasure in abusing pilgrims and in delaying and even impeding their journey, to the degree possible.”5 In those times, religious convictions were deep-rooted and often led to implacable mutual hatred.
Reaction of the “sons of thunder”
“And when His disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to bid fire come down from Heaven and consume them?’”
According to the wise French author, this question of James and John reveals, “an intemperate zeal,” but proves their deep belief in Jesus’ omnipotence.
Undoubtedly, the two brothers were thinking of the captains of Ahaziah who were devoured by fire from Heaven at the order of the Prophet Elijah, each with his fifty soldiers (Cf. 2 Kings 1:9-12); and the episode of the 250 princes of the assembly, members of the council and renowned men, under the command of Korah, Dathan and Abiram, receiving the same chastisement for rebelling against Moses (Cf. Num 16:2,35).
Aware of the power flowing from Our Lord, it is not surprising that the sons of Zebedee wanted to imitate the conduct of the Lawgiver and Prophet, whom they had seen, some weeks before, appear beside the Master on Mount Tabor. Indeed, St. Ambrose asks, “what was surprising about the ‘sons of thunder’ wanting to cast down thunderbolts?”6
Seized by the characteristic “fervour of novices,” they considered it a duty of justice to call down fire upon that rebellious city. The commentaries of St. Jerome, St. Bede and Titus Bostrense, summarized by Maldonado, concur: the “sons of thunder” desired vengeance “not for their own honour, but for that of Christ; and there was certainly no wrong in this, but rather ignorance regarding the Christian and evangelical spirit.”7
Rejection and ingratitude are part of the missionary’s life
“But He turned and rebuked them.”
Having been formed according to the customs of the Old Covenant, the brothers were used to the law of retaliation and thought that every rejection of the good should be promptly chastised. But Our Lord brought another perspective: “Love your enemies… Pray for those who abuse you… Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful” (Lk 6:27-28,36). He had recently instructed them in this conduct, and for this He rebuked them.
The suggestion of James and John show how far the disciples still were from this new Commandment. They had yet to undergo and accept one of the most painful trials of the missionary: ingratitude, rejection and even persecution from those he wishes to help.
As Chrysostom notes, the Apostles “were to be the teachers of the world, crossing towns and villages, preaching the doctrine of the Gospel, meeting sometimes with men who would not receive the sacred doctrine, just as they did not allow Jesus to stay with them. He therefore taught them that in announcing the divine doctrine, they ought to be models of patience and meekness, having no bitterness, wrath, or enmity against those who wronged them.”8
St. Bede rightly points out: “The Lord blames them, not for following the example of the holy Prophet, but for their ignorance in opting for vengeance while they were yet inexperienced, noting that they did not desire amendment from love, but vengeance from hatred.”9
We should not remain where our apostolate is not well received
“And they went on to another village.”
This short phrase of the Evangelist contains an important lesson. As noted before, Jesus was forming His disciples in apostolic works as they journeyed desiring to show them—through the previously narrated episodes—that the missionary should never be perturbed, nor show irritation, when his evangelizing effort is rejected. This would amount to self-love, or attachment to personal initiative.
On the contrary, if we encounter “villages of Samaria” in our travels, we should not wish to chastise them with “fire from Heaven” as James and John did, but we should also not lose time where our apostolic efforts will be fruitless.
II – A small treatise on vocation
The second part of today’s Gospel, presents three men who want to follow Our Lord Jesus Christ without taking into account the degree of surrender that this requires. These three episodes could have occurred at different places and times, as Fr. Truyols notes, being perhaps narrated together by the Evangelist because of their similarity. Indeed, this exegete goes on to say that together they make up a small treatise on the divine vocation, namely, “of the requisite conditions for following Christ.”10
An offering with secondary intentions
“As they were going along the road, a man said to Him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’”
In the first case, someone expresses to Our Lord the willingness to follow Him to any place and at any cost. St. Matthew offers a detail omitted by St. Luke: he was a scribe (Mt 8:19). A first sight, he seems to be a generous soul that desires to stay with Jesus forever.
Fillion describes this person as “enthusiastic, yet superficial and very self-confident.”11 He notes that he is a man who “speaks the language of fleeting and impulsive emotion, who belittles obstacles while they are distant and, without having been convoked, offers to confront them.”12
Delving yet deeper into the psychology of this scribe, St. Cyril states that he is moved by pride rather than the desire of being a disciple: “There is much tardiness implied in his manner of coming… he is overly filled with presumption. For he sought not to follow Christ simply as several others, but rather grasped at the honour of Apostleship.”13
Theophylactus highlights his ambitious spirit: “Having seen Our Lord drawing many people to Himself, he thought that He received reward from them, and that if he followed Our Lord, he might obtain money.”14
Detachment and simplicity in following Jesus
“And Jesus said to Him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests’….”
The Divine Master neither comments on the scribe’s proposal, nor admits him into His company. Abstracting from the concrete case, He responds with a metaphor that, once and for all, outlines the radical dedication that should characterize souls called to missionary activity.
Foxes have holes and birds build nests, for it is the instinct of animals to seek shelter. The true apostle, however, must be entirely devoted to the mission of converting souls, without a care to his own convenience. Others may concern themselves with preparing nests, or holes; those who wish to follow Christ must surrender themselves entirely and keep nothing for themselves.
Why did Jesus choose these particular animals to illustrate His preaching?
St. Ambrose analyses the cunning and deceptive instinct of the fox who hides in its hole to surprise its prey. This is the image of the heretic, who seeks to mask his errors under the appearance of wholesome doctrine, to deviate searchers of the truth.15
St. Cyril of Alexandria comments on the birds of the air: “He does not speak of actual, visible birds, but of vile and iniquitous spirits who frequently prey upon the hearts of men, snatching away the heavenly seed and carrying it away, so that they will not bear any fruit.”16
It is neither in these holes, nor in these nests that the Son of man can make His dwelling, since He is Truth and Goodness. Jesus will never act as the foxes or the birds of the metaphor. On the contrary, He clearly offers the Kingdom of Heaven and honestly explains His doctrine, even though the radicality of His call bewilders those who do not have a true vocation.
Seen from this perspective, Our Lord’s metaphor assumes a tone of a clear rejection of the pretentious request of the scribe, in which He seems to say: “Foxes haves hiding places in their hearts—lies. Birds of the air have nests in their heart—pride. If you are false and proud, you cannot follow Me. How can falsehood follow Simplicity?”17
Thoughts raised toward heavenly Jerusalem
“… ‘but the Son of man has nowhere to lay His head.’”
To “to lay the head” could be interpreted here as an allusion to the instinct of sociability, since man rests in finding someone with whom he can open up and share his fears and concerns. Thus, in this passage, the Divine Master would be warning those who embark on apostolate—or begin to earnestly practice the demands of Faith—regarding the risk, at a given moment, of feeling alone and without aid and consolation. All who desire to follow in the footsteps of Jesus as true missionaries should be ready even for this form of surrender.
However, these words of the Messiah can also be explained in the sense that a missionary’s thoughts on this earth should be continually raised toward the heavenly Jerusalem. He teaches us that his heart must be entirely focussed on the supernatural plane, and that he must avoid “resting the head” on the symbolic “pillow” of worldly affairs.
A moral obligation demanded by the Law
“To another He said, ‘Follow me.’ But He said, ‘Lord, let me first go and bury my father.’”
In this second episode Jesus takes the initiative. In looking upon one of those following Him, He discerns the sign of vocation and says with an altogether divine sweetness: “Follow Me.” In other words, “abandon everything, leave behind what you have and come follow Me.”
The following narration reveals that the words of Jesus deeply touched the soul of that man. However, his father had died—or, according to some commentators, was about to die—and, before beginning his missionary life, he wanted to settle all the family problems, so as to more freely follow Our Lord.
The request could not be more legitimate and reasonable. Does not the Decalogue command us to honour father and mother? In addition to this, the burial of a deceased parent was an obligation demanded by Jewish Law.
Love of God must take priority over love for father
“But He said to Him, ‘Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’”
However, Jesus rejects the request of His disciple, using an enigmatic expression that cannot be understood literally. Indeed, St. Ambrose asks: “But how can the dead bury the dead? Unless you here understand a twofold death, one a natural death, the other the death of sin.”18
From the words of the Divine Master, Chrysostom concludes that the father died in a state of infidelity—that is outside the love of God and the practice of the Law.19 Furthermore, there were certainly “others who could fulfil this obligation, the father would not be left unburied because of this.”
Nevertheless, Jesus’ response to that disciple far outreaches the concrete situation and endures as a valuable lesson for all who were, are and will be called to follow Him throughout the course of history. “When Our Lord Jesus Christ appointed men to preach the Gospel, He did not wish to hear any excuse based on carnal or temporal concerns,” St. Augustine affirms.20
Let us recall in this regard, the teaching of St. Ambrose: “Our duty to God is to be preferred to our love for our parents, to whom we show reverence, because through them have we been born. But the God of all, when as yet we were not, brought us into being, our parents were made the ministers of our introduction.”21
When someone hears the voice of Jesus bidding “Come, follow Me,” he should consider everything that came before this as belonging to the “world of the dead” and no longer show any interest for the matters that previously concerned him. This should be radically done because “whoever wants to be a disciple of the Lord must renounce human obligations, even when they seem reasonable, if because of them they put off, even in the smallest point, the obedience due to God.”22
In addition to a total detachment from temporal goods and a heart raised toward the heavenly Jerusalem, Jesus demands of the apostle the complete breaking of all ties by which he is attached to the world.
Do not look back on what we abandon
“Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’”
In this third episode, Our Lord makes use of a remarkably expressive image from that era. A crooked furrow in the earth created problems for both sowing and harvesting. Therefore, it was necessary to pay close attention to making a straight line with the plough. To achieve this, the farmer had to avoid looking back.
Therefore, the one who ploughs and sows on this earth, hoping to reap fruits in eternity, should act in this way, with his gaze always fixed on the supernatural end, without diverting for any reason. The missionary must totally renounce the ties which previously bound him to sin or to lukewarmness and never look back, so that, in accordance with the warning of St. Cyprian of Carthage, “we do not happen to turn back to the devil and the world, which we had renounced and from which we had freed ourselves.”23 According to the words of St. Nilus, “the frequent looking upon the things which we have forsaken, through the force of habit draws us back to our past way of life.”24
III – The Secret of True Happiness
Today’s Liturgy can be more fittingly applied to consecrated souls, invited by the Divine Redeemer to abandon everything to follow Him. However, the same principles of radical surrender and complete dedication to the duties inherent to one’s own state of life, apply to all the baptised, whether they be chosen for the priesthood or religious life, or called to raise a family and practice a profession.
In any of these instances, we all hear at a certain moment, a gentle yet commanding inner voice telling us: “Follow me.” If we accept the divine invitation, we will be from that instant, lovingly “confiscated” by Jesus. Because our life belongs to Him and our surrender to Him should be absolute.
The devil—abject creature and envious of the reward promised to us—is often thwarted from diverting chosen souls from the path of sanctity. When this happens he tempts them to practice virtue half-heartedly and to frequently look back, seeking to sow in these souls the illusion that by acting in this way, their burden will become easier and their suffering lessened.
However, Our Lord does not tolerate tepidity in His followers. Those whose lives are ruled by their own interests, or poorly perform the works in the vineyard of the Lord, will never be happy. On this earth, true joy is only attained by those who dedicate themselves entirely to fulfilling their mission.
Throughout the journey traced by Providence for each one of us, we all encounter joys and consolations, but also, inevitably, moments of sadness and desolation, in this valley of tears. Let us not be surprised when they come and, in these moments of suffering, let us make a special effort to not look back, because along the path of the disciple of Jesus, the burden of those who have surrendered everything is light; it is heavy for those who have opted to make concessions and who have sought the middle ground.
If in a specific situation the weight of our obligations makes us totter, let us confidently turn our gaze to Our Lady, certain that she will protect and console us. And finally, when the day arrives for our entry into the eternal delights of Heaven, we will fully comprehend how she and her Divine Son are always near to those who wholeheartedly dedicate their lives to following them.◊
Notes
1 FERNÁNDEZ TRUYOLS, SJ, Andrés. Vida de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo. 2.ed. Madrid: BAC, 1954. p.388.
2 To highlight Our Lord’s great determination of soul, the Vulgate uses the expression “et ipse faciem suam firmavit — and He set His face.” It is a Hebraism which, according to Maldonado, “metaphorically alludes to what the bull habitually does when it prepares to attack someone, pulling back its head to enhance the resolution” (MALDONADO, SJ, Juan de. Comentarios a los cuatro Evangelios – II Evangelios de San Marcos y San Lucas. Madrid: BAC, 1956, p.523.)
3 GOMÁ Y TOMÁS, Isidro. El Evangelio explicado. Barcelona: Casulleras, 1930, v.III, p.114.
4 Idem, ibidem.
5 FILLION, Louis-Claude. Vida de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo. Vida pública. Madrid: Rialp, s/d., v.II, p.317.
6 ST. AMBROSE, Exposit. in Luc., apud MALDONADO, SJ, op. cit., p.528.
7 MALDONADO, SJ, op. cit., p.528.
8 ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM, apud ST. THOMAS AQUINAS, Catena Aurea.
9 ST. BEDE, apud ST. THOMAS AQUINAS, Catena Aurea.
10 Cf. TRUYOLS, op. cit., p.390-391.
11 FILLION, op. cit., p.319.
12 Idem, ibidem.
13 ST. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA. Comentário ao Evangelho de Lucas, Sermão 57, apud ODEN, Thomas C. and JUST Jr., Arthur A. La Biblia comentada por los Padres de la Iglesia – Nuevo Testamento, San Lucas. Madrid: Ciudad Nueva, 2000, v.III, p.242.
14 THEOPHYLACTUS, apud ST. THOMAS AQUINAS. Catena Aurea, v.IV.
15 Cf. ST. AMBROSE, op. cit., ibidem.
16 ST. CYRIL OF ALEXANDRIA, op.cit., apud ODEN and JUST Jr., op. cit., p.242.
17 ST. AUGUSTINE. Comentarios de San Agustín a las lecturas litúrgicas. Valladolid: Estudio Agustiniano, 1985, p.1015.
18 ST. AMBROSE, apud ST. THOMAS AQUINAS, Catena Aurea.
19 Cf. ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM. Obras de San Juan Crisóstomo. Homilías sobre el Evangelio de San Mateo (1-45). Madrid: BAC, 2007, p.561.
20 ST. AUGUSTINE, op. cit., p.1015.
21 ST. AMBROSE, apud ST. THOMAS AQUINAS, Catena Aurea.
22 ST. BASIL THE GREAT, Sobre el bautismo, 1, 45 , apud ODEN and JUST Jr., op. cit., p.242-243.
23 ST. CYPRIAN OF CARTHAGE, Exhortación al martirio, dirigido a Fortunato, 712 , apud ODEN e JUST Jr., op. cit., p.243.
24 ST. NILUS THE ELDER, apud ST. THOMAS AQUINAS, Catena Aurea.