PRAYER MOMENT

Monday 1 July 2013

LEAVE THE DEAD TO BURY THEIR DEAD

Pause. Allow all around you and you yourself to be quiet for a moment..

Reading. “One of his disciples said to him, “I will follow you but let me go and bury my father first.” But Jesus replied, “Follow me and leave the dead to bury their dead.” (Matt 8:18-22)

Reflection. The harshness of this reply has not softened over the two thousand years we have been reading it. It still sounds shocking especially in countries where anything to do with death is highly charged. There are many other alarming statements attributed to Jesus – about hating your relatives and cutting off a limb that is a cause of scandal – but we should read all these as expressions of urgency meant to shake his listeners into a sense of the imminent breaking forth of the reign of God in the world.

Prayer. Jesus, our Lord and God, help us to have this sense of urgency about the time that you give us. Help us to see in all things the coming of the kingdom. Amen.