Exhausted

Where do you go to be alone?

Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. A scribe then approached and said, ‘Teacher, 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.’ Another of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.’ - Matthew 8:18-22

I have always found these verses from Matthew's Gospel to be troubling.

It appears that Jesus is exhausted and angry that he cannot find a place to rest, a place where he can find peace.  So, when he encounters someone who has not made up his mind to follow him, he yells at him.

Sometimes we bring it on ourselves.  We take on too much and then we get annoyed at those around us who see us struggling and don't pitch in to help.

To follow Jesus is a commitment.  To be Jesus is impossible for anyone but Jesus, and even for him, it was a challenge at times.  His human nature needed rest.  His divine nature needed to reach as many as possible, without turning any away.

What are our reasons for not being totally committed?

Are we afraid of taking on too much?  Afraid of missing something important in our lives?

The man who says he wants to bury his father has been described as someone who wants to wait until his father passes and he has no other commitments.  God knows how long that would be.

When we look at it that way, it makes sense that Jesus would be angry.  You are just not committed, he is saying. 

So, what about us?  What is keeping us from diving in and following Christ?

Maybe it is fear of commitment, or fear of missing something important.

Whatever road we choose, we know we are missing out on what the other road would have presented.

Such is life.

More to come...