Today’s Theme for Prayer – Jesus Calls Me Beyond Myself
How Generous is My Response to the Lord?
If everything that exists was made by God and for God, and God is superior to the things made by Him, he who abandons what is superior and devotes himself to what is inferior shows that he values things made by God more than God Himself. St. Maximus the Confessor
Dropping Anchor: The Art of True Discipleship
Luke 9:57-62
As they 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.”
Grace Prayed For
The grace to detach from worldly comforts and attachments, especially those that keep us bound to the past and that keep us from moving forward in God’s will. Ask for the grace of discerning God’s will in the present moment. The grace to respond with radical trust and unwavering commitment to the call of discipleship, embracing the vulnerability of following Christ, and the strength and resolve to face the unknown with confidence.
Reflection
The road stretched ahead, dusty and uncertain, much like the path that unfolds within our own souls. These verses crack open the heart of discipleship, revealing its raw and often uncomfortable demands. The first man, so eager, so seemingly ready, offers his devotion freely – “I will follow you wherever you go!” A beautiful sentiment, yet Jesus’ response is not one of comfort. It’s a mirror, reflecting back the stark reality of his own itinerant life, “The Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” Do I shy away from that same truth? Is my security wrapped up in comforts and predictable patterns? Lord, strip away the false security of my worldly attachments, and free me to embrace the vulnerability of following you.
Then comes the call, “Follow me,” and the plea for delay, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” It’s a reasonable request, isn’t it? A final act of love, respect, and a holding to the past. Yet Jesus’ words cut through to the deeper, more urgent calling, “Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Father God, are there places in my heart where I bury my energy in the past, in things that have passed? Places where I choose what is comfortable instead of choosing to move into what You are asking of me? I ask for the strength to release those tombs in my life and to focus my energy on the call of the present. Let me be bold in proclaiming your Kingdom.
And finally, the third man, hesitant yet willing. He wants to say goodbye, to close the doors and have a “final” moment before moving into the unknown. Jesus’ response is firm, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.” Holy Spirit, what are the distractions I allow into my vision? Are they from the past? Or are they from an anxious future? Help me to keep my gaze locked on the furrow before me, to lean into the present moment, where You are always found. Help me to see the path you have laid out before me.
This journey with You is not a linear progression but an eternal, ongoing invitation into ever deeper union. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, lead me into the wilderness of faith. Help me to let go of all that holds me back, so that I may be fully Yours and completely available to Your divine will. May I be freed from the bondage of earthly attachments and live entirely within the freedom of your love, and may I be completely present to the call You have for me this moment.
Growing in Intimacy/Union with Jesus
This passage reveals a raw and challenging side of Jesus. He doesn’t offer ease; he demands a complete surrender of our lives and worldly comforts. He invites us to embrace the uncomfortable, the uncertain, and the “unreasonable” nature of faith. This level of radical surrender, when offered with love, brings a new dimension of intimacy with Jesus. Through the process of releasing the comfort of attachments, and the false security of the familiar, we free up space in our souls for Jesus to occupy. This isn’t a transactional relationship, but a deepening union. It’s in the daily choices, the small acts of faith that require letting go, that we find a greater dependence on and communion with Jesus, and the entire Trinity, a love-relationship that transforms the very fabric of our being. It’s through the daily surrender that we get to experience a new kind of freedom, the freedom of following Jesus without hesitancy or distraction.
When Time Allows Reflect on the Posts in Library and Musings
Sharing
Jesus last words on Earth were to his disciples, can be found in Matthew Chap 28 when Jesus told his disciples, “Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Jesus calls all of us to share in his redemptive mission here on Earth. I would ask you to share this Scripture reflection with your family, your friends and your acquaintances, and then share it with a couple of individuals that you may may not be comfortable sharing with, keeping in mind always the words of Jesus, And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age
Author was assisted by AI in the drafting of this Post