The Demand of Love

13^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

June 26, 2016

Luke 9:51-62

“Let the dead bury their dead (Luk 9:60).”

Following Jesus is difficult. In today’s Gospel, He demands that we let go three things. The first is our concern for our enemies. It seems easy to ignore those people whom we don’t like, but in reality, they consume our attention and energy. My friend shared to me how he was bullied at his officemates, and this drained so much of his productivity and focus in work. Often, like James and John, our anger moves to seek revenge and even violence. “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them (the Samaritans who rejected them)?” Yet, Jesus reminds us to leave these behind.

The second thing is our pursuit for life security and comfort. Jesus put simply, “the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” It is part of our nature to look for comfort and enjoyable life, often through seeking material possession. Our modern mentality also trains us to love work and compete for highest position and biggest success. When we work hard and achieve in various fields of our live, like in our career, even our service in the Church, this gives us immeasurable sense of fulfillment. Yet, Jesus also wants us to put this aside. 

Thirdly, and I believe most difficult for many of us, it is the family. When a follower wanted to bury his father, Jesus made a strong yet symbolic statement, “Let the dead bury the dead.” Being an Asian, particularly Indonesian, I have strong sense of family-orientation. In almost all major events of my life like graduation and solemn religious profession, my parents were proudly present. Though, it means they needed to fly to Manila and spent a lot of money. For my Filipino brothers in the community, it is unthinkable to totally detach from their families. Yet, even this most precious possession we have, Jesus wants us to set it aside.

It looks like that Jesus’ demand is not only difficult but also impossible. Why does it have to be like this? We read today’s Gospel closely, we realize that by this time, Jesus has fixed His course to Jerusalem. He knew well that nothing but failure, frustration and death awaited Him there. Yet, He still did this because He obeyed His Father’s radical demand. What is this demand of the Father? It is no other than the demand of love: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Jesus invites us to this radical reorientation of our love. When we love God, then the rest will fall into its proper place. 

When we see God first, we will try our best to love those who hate us because people unworthy of our love bear God’s image as well. When we seek God first, the material procession, successful career and life security are seen as blessing from God. Then, they are also blessing to share with others. When we love God first, our love for our family will be purified, as we will bring them to closer to God. 

A friend told me how his family is so dear to him. But, thing began to fall apart, as his younger brother was trapped into drug addiction. Initially, he did not like his brother to undergo rehabilitation and be separated from the family for indefinite time. But, after long prayer and discernment, he decided to bring his brother into a center of recovery. It was a painful decision, but his love for God has brought him into a bigger love for his brother. Now, he becomes even more pious as he attends mass every day for the recovery of his brother. 

To follow Jesus is difficult and demanding, but it is necessary as we expand our love for God and others.

Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP