Reading 1
Neh 2:1-8
In the month Nisan of the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,
when the wine was in my charge,
I took some and offered it to the king.
As I had never before been sad in his presence,
the king asked me, "Why do you look sad?
If you are not sick, you must be sad at heart."
Though I was seized with great fear, I answered the king:
"May the king live forever!
How could I not look sad
when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins,
and its gates have been eaten out by fire?"
The king asked me, "What is it, then, that you wish?"
I prayed to the God of heaven and then answered the king:
"If it please the king,
and if your servant is deserving of your favor,
send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors? graves,
to rebuild it."
Then the king, and the queen seated beside him,
asked me how long my journey would take
and when I would return.
I set a date that was acceptable to him,
and the king agreed that I might go.
I asked the king further: "If it please the king,
let letters be given to me for the governors
of West-of-Euphrates,
that they may afford me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah;
also a letter for Asaph, the keeper of the royal park,
that he may give me wood for timbering the gates
of the temple-citadel and for the city wall
and the house that I shall occupy."
The king granted my requests,
for the favoring hand of my God was upon me.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6
R. (6ab) Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
By the streams of Babylon
we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
On the aspens of that land
we hung up our harps.
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
Though there our captors asked of us
the lyrics of our songs,
And our despoilers urged us to be joyous:
"Sing for us the songs of Zion!"
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
How could we sing a song of the LORD
in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand be forgotten!
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
May my tongue cleave to my palate
if I remember you not,
If I place not Jerusalem
ahead of my joy.
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
Gospel
Lk 9:57-62
As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding
on their journey, someone said to him,
"I will follow you wherever you go."
Jesus answered him,
"Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."
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.
But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God."
And another said, "I will follow you, Lord,
but first let me say farewell to my family at home."
Jesus answered him, "No one who sets a hand to the plow
and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God."
Meditation: Luke 9:57-62
“Let the dead bury their dead.” (Luke 9:60)
Jesus sounds pretty extreme here, doesn’t he? Surely he would want a man to attend his own father’s funeral! Everything we know about him tells us that he wants us all to be prudent and wise in the way we live our lives. So what is Jesus really saying here?
As he so often does, Jesus is exaggerating his answers in order to make a point. Just as he doesn’t really want us to chop off our hands or gouge out our eyes, he doesn’t really want us to abandon all our responsibilities in the name of discipleship. What he does want us to do is take seriously his call to follow him. So he uses extreme language to get our attention and prompt us to do a bit of self-examination.
How easy it can be to tell ourselves that we are too busy to pray today! How tempting to put down the Bible and go outside to rake the leaves or mow the lawn! But each decision we make adds up, until we begin to think that Jesus really isn’t so very important in our lives. Of course, we would never say it so bluntly, but our actions often speak more honestly than our words.
Don’t let that happen! Let Jesus’ words—shocking as they are—provoke a few questions. To make sure that you’re being as objective as possible, try the following exercise: Take out a piece of paper and write down the two or three biggest obstacles that you face in your life with the Lord. Next, take a few moments of quiet and see if you can detect the Spirit giving you ideas of how you can chip away at these obstacles. Write down a few ideas, and try to come up with a plan to help yourself.
The key here is to start small. Don’t try to conquer everything all at once. Just take it a step at a time. And remember that Jesus is always walking with you, even if you are not walking with him perfectly every day. He is faithful, and he will help you become a more dedicated follower.
“Jesus, I want to follow you, but you know how easily I can get distracted or discouraged. Help me to be a better disciple.”
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