Reflection for June 30 Monday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time: Matthew 8:18-22

Gospel: Matthew 8:18-22

When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other shore. A scribe approached and said to him, “Teacher, 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.” Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But Jesus answered him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead.”

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Reflection:

Up to where are you willing to follow Jesus? Would you still follow Him if He leads you to care for the poor and the sick? Would you still follow Him if He leads you to a life of poverty? Would you still follow Him if He leads you to a life of sacrifice and perseverance? 

These questions are not easy to answer, especially since many of us have grown accustomed to a life of comfort and ease. Yet, throughout history and even today, there are people who have left everything behind—including their comfort and their treasures—to embrace a life of sacrifice and poverty for the sake of following Jesus. 

If we ask them how they are now after choosing to leave everything behind to follow Jesus, they will simply tell us that they have never been happier. They will tell us that walking closely with Jesus, even in simplicity and hardship, is the best life they have ever lived. 

A life with Jesus is always the best life. It remains the best even if it leads us to poverty, even if it calls us to care for the poor and the sick, and even if it invites us to a life of sacrifice and perseverance. 

For in following Jesus, we discover a joy that the world can never give, and a peace that only He can provide. – Marino J. Dasmarinas