The Homeless Prophet
Matthew 8:18-27
Was Jesus saying that he was homeless?
Photo of a marketplace
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.” And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. A windstorm arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. And they went and woke him up, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, you of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a dead calm. They were amazed, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?”
Many of you know by now that I like to approach these readings as a nonbeliever, or at least a skeptic.
I do that because I believe we are called to spread the Gospel of Christ. All of us, not just the clergy, but all believers.
Becoming a believer is difficult. There are too many distractions. People don’t read anymore. They skim.
They read headlines and take meaning from those, rather than from the whole article.
So, I tend to start with a question. What is Jesus saying or doing here?
Then I ask why.
Why does Jesus complain about being homeless? Isn’t that what he is doing?
I don’t think so. I believe he is making a point about trusting in God.
He has said it many times. The Lord God provides. But we don’t buy that, because we look around at all we have and believe we couldn’t live without these things.
Well, I always felt that way too, but God showed me something different.
These last four and a half months, while traveling around the world, I saw how people lived in each place I visited. The obvious thing to do is to compare how they live with how we live.
We all did that, and we felt sorry for those living with less, much less.
Then I came home to the place where I lay my head at night.
Going from a 240 square foot cabin on the ship to my modest 1000 square foot apartment was actually a shocker.
I realized I have way too much stuff.
Now living a third of the year without all these things doesn’t sound like a hardship at all. Someone cooked my meals. Someone cleaned my cabin. Someone checked whether I was hungry or thirsty and brought me what I asked for. It was pure luxury.
In a way, though, it was a taste of what Jesus told us. The Lord will provide.
It was an artificial taste of it, I admit. We paid for this luxury. But in the right frame of mind, we could see, yeah, I don’t need a lot to be happy.
That takes me back to the happy people we met who lived in abject poverty.
They were grateful for the cruise ships that brought passengers eager to buy handmade items from them. Sure, some sold “souvenirs” made in China, items they bought with what little money they had, and tried to sell them to us as we exited the bus.
Most of the passengers felt sorry for them, and that is understandable.
But I see the same type of approach online when I watch a video or scroll through what I thought was news.
They are doing what we do, marketing and sales.
I looked at how they lived and didn’t want to live that way, but then I came home and realized I fill up my available space with stuff I don’t use or need.
At some point, I will not be able to take care of myself, and I will need to move into a small room where my basic needs are met. Someone will make my meals. Someone will check on me. Someone will let me know what is playing in the theater at night.
Maybe we all need a break from our reality. Maybe we need to be homeless for a while.
Knowing we can cry out for God’s help when we feel we are perishing makes it all possible.
Who would have thought a world cruise would change my perspective on my life the way it has?
It was a retreat from the routine, and it made all the difference.
More to come...