First reading Amos 2:6-10,13-16
Because of your crimes I will crush you into the ground
The Lord says this:
For the three crimes, the four crimes, of Israel
I have made my decree and will not relent:
because they have sold the virtuous man for silver
and the poor man for a pair of sandals,
because they trample on the heads of ordinary people
and push the poor out of their path,
because father and son have both resorted to the same girl,
profaning my holy name,
because they stretch themselves out by the side of every altar
on clothes acquired as pledges,
and drink the wine of the people they have fined
in the house of their god…
Yet it was I who overthrew the Amorites when they attacked,
men tall as cedars and strong as oaks,
I who destroyed them,
both fruit above ground
and root below.
It was I who brought you out of the land of Egypt
and for forty years led you through the wilderness
to take possession of the Amorite’s country.
See then how I am going to crush you into the ground
as the threshing-sledge crushes when clogged by straw;
flight will not save even the swift,
the strong man will find his strength useless,
the mighty man will be powerless to save himself.
The bowman will not stand his ground,
the fast runner will not escape,
the horseman will not save himself,
the bravest warriors will run away naked that day.
It is the Lord who speaks.
Responsorial Psalm 49(50):16-23
Remember this, you who never think of God.
“Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?”
Remember this, you who never think of God.
“When you see a thief, you keep pace with him,
and with adulterers you throw in your lot.
To your mouth you give free rein for evil,
you harness your tongue to deceit.”
Remember this, you who never think of God.
“You sit speaking against your brother;
against your mother’s son you spread rumors.
When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?
Or do you think that I am like yourself?
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.”
Remember this, you who never think of God.
“Consider this, you who forget God,
lest I rend you and there be no one to rescue you.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.”
Remember this, you who never think of God.
Gospel Matthew 8:18-22
The Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head
When Jesus saw the great crowds all about him he gave orders to leave for the other side. One of the scribes then came up and said to him, ‘Master, I will follow you wherever you go.’ Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’
Another man, one of his disciples, said to him, ‘Sir, let me go and bury my father first.’ But Jesus replied, ‘Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their dead.’
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Follow me
Jesus calls us to become committed disciples who follow Him daily regardless of our circumstances. He does not want superficial disciples who verbally proclaim that they are His followers but live according to their whims and fancies. Through today’s gospel, Jesus tells us that following Him is challenging because He does not promise a comfortable and easy life of having abundant money, always being strong and healthy, having power and security, etc. Are we still willing to follow Jesus?
Another person wants to go and bury his father first. Jesus gives a startling response, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury the dead”. The person’s father is not yet dead. He is telling Jesus that he will follow when his father dies. Thus, he is telling Jesus, “Not now but later”. Like this man, we might delay: “I will pray, I will serve, but not right now because I want to watch TV, check my emails, etc.” There is always something to delay us from being with Jesus and following Him closely. Today, let us allow Jesus to set our priorities and reorientate our lives so that we can truly be His disciples.
Reflective question:
Am I truly following Jesus?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year B” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD.
