By Kathleen Bordo Crombie
“And to another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he replied, ‘Lord, let me go first and bury my father.’ But he answered him, ‘Let the dead bury their dead.'” ~Luke 9:59-60
At Jesus’ invitation to become His disciple, a young man replied that he wanted to bury his father first. Of course, a good son would want to honor his father and keep the Fourth Commandment. Personally, I’ve always thought the father was on his death bed, and that the son wanted to do the right thing with a proper burial upon his father’s death. That might be true! But in reading the visionary writings of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, she shared a different perspective that’s worthy of consideration. Perhaps, the young man wanted to get his affairs in order by securing his inheritance first from his elderly father. That also could be true!
Get Ready!
I have always found, “Let the dead bury the dead” confusing. How is that even possible? It’s not! Jesus meant the spiritually dead are those who do not follow Him or His teachings, or do penance. Jesus was telling this young man to forget about the material things of this world, but he wasn’t ready … at least not then. Let’s be honest, to follow Christ requires a radical conversion of heart and a total surrender of the will. With God’s grace, all things are possible.
Go!
Today is the Memorial of St. Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church. As a Catholic student in Rome, he gave way to temptation but eventually found his way back to the Church. Although he later felt the call to monastic life, he wasn’t ready to give up everything to enter … at least not then. In time he became a monk, reluctantly agreed to priestly ordination, tamed his temper, and is most known for creating the definitive Latin translation of the Bible called the Vulgate. St. Jerome surrendered everything to follow Jesus Christ as his devoted disciple.
Prayer:
St. Jerome, you are an extraordinary example of how I should peel off the layers of life that keep me from total surrender to Jesus Christ. Help me understand God’s invitation to become a devoted disciple, to all that keeps me separated from Him, and how to follow Him without hesitation or question. Amen.
Call to Action:
To become a true disciple of Jesus Christ we need to know Him, what he teaches and how to live our lives. We can get to know the Word of God better by reading a passage from the Bible every day. St. Jerome said, “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.”
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Love this article, thank you! What a great way to start my morning!
Tracy,
Thank you for taking time to read my post. Hope it was a most blessed start to your morning!
Thank you Kathy for this thought provoking post. Providentially, this connected with my spiritual reading this morning. In the book Searching for and Maintaining Peace, Fr Jacques Philippe asked French mystic and now Venerable Marthe Robin – What do you do when you are unable to abandon yourself? She replied “Abandon yourself anyway!”
Love this, Joe! Thank you!
Kathy…as always, beautifully written & you always inspire through teaching. Thank you for sharing your charism.
Appreciate Mary! Praise God!
I often wondered about “let the dead bury the dead.” Thank you for explaining so clearly and concisely.
Catherine! I’m learning that what I often find confusing in Scripture, is also confusing for others and it’s not just me. But that confusion begs for clarification and that’s the “nudge” I often need to truly understand. Thanks for your feedback!
I too always was confused by this. This perspective very clears that up and shines a whole new meaning for me on this passage. Great info to pray and ponder with.
Thank you, Tom! I really do appreciate Blessed Emmerich’s explanation … made me give this much thought.
Good morning Kathy,
I’m always amazed with the Scripture its richness. I’m at times perplexed by the meaning of the verse. What Lord is asking of me? With this particular passage I think Lord asks us too leave everything what earthly and follow Him. We think loving mother and father or take care of funeral for father is very noble. But Christ asking us to follow Him without any hesitation and not to be attached to earthly relationships and duties.
It’s very radical.
He is The First.
In His love,
Maria
Very true, Maria! The invitation is not complicated … we often make it that way, however. Thank you for your conment.
Great article! Many of us have had that experience of I want to surrender to the Lord, but there’s still this one thing that I’m not ready to give up. I’ve certainly been there. St. Augustine’s famous, “give me chastity, but not yet”… comes to mind. Grateful for God’s patience and the gift of the grace that finally gets us there!
Amen. Thank you, Deacon Bob! You’re right.
Thank you once again for a very insightful meditation.
I appreciate knowing St Jerome’s faith journey. Seems a little like St Augustine. He knew too he was being called but wasn’t ready, initially.
May I too make more of an attempt to follow Jesus. Tune out the competing noise of this world and focus on the One who really matters.
Thank you Cindy! I agree … getting that noise out of lives to focus on Jesus is challenging, but doable.
I also have found, “Let the dead, bury the dead,” confusing. Thanks for sharing two interesting perspectives. My take away is priorities. We have to keep God first, above our families. Also we’re ALIVE, not dead, when we follow Jesus.
Absolutely Catherine! The priority should always be Jesus if we want to be fully alive!
Fall is such a beautiful time of year, so many wonderful feast days: saints, angels and archangels, and Our Lady of the Rosary. With the beauty of fall, there’s also a sense of sadness, running out of time, not prepared, like the young man who has to bury his father, etc., before following Our Lord. The saints set the example, taking it a day at a time, and getting up and trying over and over to better serve Our Lord. Thanks, Kathy, some very helpful thoughts!
Thank Christine! It is a reflective time of the year as we slowly move towards the season of Advent. Much to ponder in regards to the moment we meet Jesus at the end of our lives and account for our time on earth. Did we fully say yes to his invitation to follow him or did we do things our way? There’s still time to get it right!
Hi Aunt Kathy!
I love this read .
It’s a good reminder that with Gods Grace anything’s possible.
10/10!
Nicole! Thank you for reading my post. And you are correct in saying that with God’s grace anything is possible, which is why we continue to pray for others without failing. God is faithful and he hears our prayers.