Commentary on 1 Kings 19:16,19-21; Luke 9:57-62

The Gospel reading from Luke describes three people who had a desire to become followers of Jesus. The passage begins with:

As they were going along the road…

‘They’ presumably refers to Jesus with his disciples. The ‘road’ occurs frequently in the Synoptics, especially in Mark’s Gospel, and can also be translated the ‘way’. In other words, it is the road or way that is bringing Jesus to Jerusalem and all that that means for him. And of course, in John’s Gospel (14:6) Jesus tells his disciples that he is “the Way” (Greek, hodos). Those who want to be followers of Jesus will also have to walk this Way.

The first man who approaches Jesus says he will follow Jesus wherever he goes. It seems to be an unconditional offer. But Jesus tells him that:

Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.

Jesus had absolutely no property; the only clothes he had were those he was wearing and lived from day to day, even from hour to hour. And yet there is no evidence that Jesus suffered from destitution, that he had to sleep outdoors at night or that he suffered from malnutrition. He had the basics; he had what he needed and nothing more. His words to the man were a challenge to live in the same way. Whether he accepted the challenge or not, we do not know. But it is a challenge being made to us also.

In the second case, the initiative comes from Jesus. He says to a man:

Follow me.

But the man answered:

Lord, first let me go and bury my father.

This does not mean that his father has just died, but more likely that he did not want to be a disciple of Jesus until after his father was dead and buried. To this Jesus replied:

Let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.

When it comes to following Jesus, it has to be done immediately; it cannot be postponed. The kingdom of God has to be live and proclaimed at once and for always. Of course, when the time comes, a man will go and bury his father, but what Jesus is pointing out is that we cannot wait for uncertain events to get in the way of making the Kingdom a reality in our world.

The third man agreed to follow Jesus, but asked to be allowed to go back and say goodbye to his family first. Jesus’ reply is not unlike what he said to the second man:

No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.

And this brings us to the First Reading, which describes God’s telling Elijah to call Elisha to be his successor as prophet. When called, Elisah replied:

Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.

To this, Elijah replied, “Go back.” But then Elisha:

…took the yoke of oxen, and slaughtered them; using the equipment from the oxen, he boiled their flesh and gave it to the people…

He left everything of his life behind and followed Elijah taking nothing with him.

The messages of Gospel and the First Reading are clear—one cannot compromise with following Jesus. John Berchmans made his unconditional commitment to follow Jesus all the way. How committed is my following? What baggage do I insist on having with me?