Let the Dead Bury the Dead

Reflection for June 27, 2016 

"Let The Dead Bury The Dead" 

One synonym for the word bury is "conceal", another is "hide" and another is "cause to disappear or become inconspicuous" 

There is some depth in this text that may apply here and that goes along the lines of "what does it mean to conceal or hide?" 

If I conceal or hide something I am preventing the reality of the thing from being known. For example, if I don't tell you that the bridge is out, you may drive your car into a lake, or if I conceal a gun,  I hide the truth that I am armed; if I cause someone's release papers from prison to "disappear", it may cause some trouble in regard to the freedom of the person in prison.   

There is a scribe in today's gospel that is interested in living a life of service and truth.  He wants to follow Jesus.  Jesus tells the scribe that; "foxes have dens and birds have nests" and He "has no place to lay His head."  Those places Jesus mentioned are places that are inconspicuous, out of the way and protected. But, Jesus goes further with it. 

Death is stagnant, death is stale, death is concealing and hiding the truth.  When we say "I am a follower of Jesus", or "I want to be a follower of Jesus", we need to be transparent, open to the truth, vulnerable to dangers (dangers that come from living the life of Christ, such as rejection and persecution) and be clean from our selfish and past behaviors. 

The other follower asks if he can go bury his father that died, and that leaves us with this response from Jesus; "Let the dead bury their dead." 

Given that Jesus raises people from the dead and heals infirmities, it struck me that this was His response. 

If we want to be a part of Jesus and His good works then we must die, die to self, and those that reject Him are left to bury each other.  

Living this life is not easy, but, it does require sacrifice, discipline, and a tough skin; and we need to have an unbridled trust that Jesus will see us through it.  Jesus is totally open and transparent, we need to be the same way.   

Today, when we want to hide, step into the Light and trust He will see us through the doors of death and we will Live with Him in truth. 

Mercy Trumps Justice

Looking at the gospel today we can easily see how Jesus directs us to peaceful resolution to our frustrations in life when it comes to dealing with others. 

It's very simple... Stop judging others when we, too, have sinful inclinations and behaviors. 

When dealing with human frailty we need to be able to look deep into our own sin and die to it all. That's what believing is.  That is what faith is and that's why it's not for the weak hearted.

But, the good news is that Jesus is present in everyone we meet.  So, we in a way, are judging that which we can't understand.  We can't know the battles that others are fighting.

So, be kind and love as Jesus has loved us.  Unconditionally loving is what we are called to do.

Be patient in dealing with others and be patient in dealing with our own short comings and sin. 

God bless you and may His Peace be in your hearts.

Being Poor In Spirit

We sit at the feet of, Jesus, today.  Jesus, is tired, hot, and looking for simple moments with His friends. 

Take the notion that we have never heard of the beautitudes and we are hearing them for the first time.

Jesus tosses a stone across the land and begins

"Blessed are poor in spirit, the Kingdom of heaven is theirs." 

One of the vows I took over ten years ago was a vow of poverty and to this day I have never needed. 

Recognizing that all we have comes from God and the simple heart to be thankful is what this poverty of spirit is.  

Think about what it is to live in poverty and think about the trust that builds up over living that way. 

We live in total submission to the will of God with our participation, not necessarily our agreement. 

We say "thy will be done" and we allow Him to work through us.

Be the Beautitudes and Be the visible Christ for all to see. 

I often thought that we should have the Beatitudes etched in stone in public service buildings in place of the commandments, it would have saved millions of dollars in court arguments. 

In Him, Rob Lopez, BSD.