Bible texts with commentary
These Bible meditations are meant as a way of seeking God in silence and prayer in the midst of our daily life. During the course of a day, take a moment to read the Bible passage with the short commentary and to reflect on the questions which follow. Afterwards, a small group of 3 to 10 people can meet to share what they have discovered and perhaps for a time of prayer.
January 2013
Matthew 8:18-23: No Place to Lay his Head
When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Another disciple said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. (Matthew 8:18-23)
As he prepares to cross over to the other side of the lake, Jesus is stopped short by two comments coming from the crowd of his followers. He answers them, almost in a challenging tone. The two men who speak to him both express a desire to follow him, each in his own way. Throughout the Gospel, following Christ always seems to require a decision without delay; here, the context of departure and the words “to the other side” add to the urgency.
The first man who speaks to Jesus is a teacher of the Torah who already seems to belong to the group of disciples. He expresses his total readiness: “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Yet, Jesus seems to give an immediate warning to that disciple full of enthusiasm, speaking these mysterious words: “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of man has no place to lay his head.”
This lack of a place to stay is not a practical concern, but a choice of lifestyle. It involves a detachment regarding earthly things, which does not mean indifference to the suffering of others but the awareness that there is a “beyond” to my life here below. Faced with the demanding call to follow Christ by their entire life, everyone is called to stop and think in order to see if they have what it takes, and at the same time to establish a hierarchy of priorities.
As for the second man, he also claims in principle to be ready and willing to follow Jesus, but this takes the form of a “yes, but ...,” putting a kind of damper on his goodwill. In his response, Jesus stresses the dimension of urgency: becoming a follower of his involves a decision without delay, and even takes precedence over family duties. Thus, funeral rites take second place with respect to remaining with him who is “the Living One" (Luke 24:5).
Discipleship means listening to the teacher but it involves still more remaining in his company, walking in his footsteps. With these replies of Jesus, we understand that the main thing is to be constantly on the road. As Christians, in the image of Jesus himself, we sometimes have to remind ourselves of the pilgrim dimension of our existence: our homeland is not of this world. Already in the early days of Christianity, this intuition was present in the Letter to Diognetus: Christians are “the soul of the world”; they “spend their lives on earth but are citizens of heaven” (V, 9).
Is there is room in my life to answer a call from Christ? With which of the two men in this passage do I identify more? What does it mean for me to read in the Gospel that Jesus had “no place to lay his head”?
‘… I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ Do you remember when Jesus said these words? While he was having dinner one day, some publicans and persons of ill-repute came and sat at the table with him. As soon as the Pharisees noticed this, they asked his disciples: ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ Upon hearing this, Jesus replied:
‘Go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” ’
Jesus is quoting the prophet Hosea (Hosea 6:6), which shows that he likes the idea it contains. In fact, it is the principle he himself follows. It expresses the primacy of love over any other commandment, over any other rule or precept.
This is Christianity: Jesus came to say that what God wants from you, in your relationships with others – whether men or women – before anything else is love, and that this will of God has already been proclaimed in Scripture as the words of the prophet show.
Love is the agenda of life for all Christians, the basic law of their actions, the yardstick of their behaviour. Love must always come before other laws. Indeed, love for others has to become the firm foundation on which a Christian validly puts into practice every other principle.
‘… I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’
Jesus wants love, and mercy is one of its expressions. He wants Christians to live like this, above all else because God is like this. In Jesus’ eyes, God is, in first place, the Merciful One, the Father who loves everyone and who makes the sun rise and rain fall on the good and the bad. Because Jesus loves everyone, he is not afraid of associating with sinners, and in this way he reveals to us who God is.
If God, then, is like this, if Jesus is like this, you too must have the same feelings.
‘… I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’
‘… and not sacrifice.’ If you do not love your neighbour, your worship will not be pleasing to Jesus. He does not welcome your prayers, your Church-going, your offerings, if they do not flower from a heart at peace with everyone, rich with love towards all.
Do you remember the extremely powerful words of the Sermon on the Mount? ‘So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift’ (Mt 5:23-24).
These words tell you that the worship most pleasing to God is love of neighbour which should be the basis even of worshipping God.
If you wanted to give a present to your father while you were angry with your brother or your sister (or your brother or your sister were angry with you) what would your father say? ‘Make peace between you and then come and give me anything you want.’
But there is more. Love is not only the basis of Christian living. It is also the most direct way of being in communion with God. We are told so by the saints, the witnesses of the Gospel who have gone before us, and it is experienced by Christians who live their faith. If they help their brothers and sisters, above all the needy, their devotion grows, their union with God is strengthened, they feel that a bond exists between them and the Lord, and this is what gives most joy to their lives.
‘… I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’
How can you live this new Word of Life? Do not discriminate between the people you are in touch with, do not treat anyone as less important, but offer everyone as much as you can give, imitating God the Father. Patch up minor or major disagreements which are displeasing to heaven and bring bitterness to your life. As Scripture says, do not let the sun set on your anger with anyone (see Eph. 4:26).
If you behave like this, all you do will be pleasing to God and will remain in eternity. Whether you are working or resting, whether you are playing or studying, whether you are with your children or going for a walk with your wife or husband, whether you are praying or making sacrifices, or fulfilling the religious practices of your Christian vocation, everything, everything, everything is raw material for the kingdom of heaven.
Paradise is a house we build here and dwell in there. And we build it with love.
Chiara Lubich
[1] See Hosea 6:6
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