[ Today's Readings ]
Even the best of good things only have lasting value in the light of God's kingdom. Even home and family must not be given priority over God. Indeed, they would not ask for such priority if they were thinking rightly. They ought to regard the one man's decision to follow Jesus as more important than the elaborate ceremonies of mourning that he wishes to attend. And if the other man is not even given time to say farewell the family should respect the urgency of that call. Being closer to Jesus and fulfilling his plans will never be worse for those around us. Indeed, whether we are near or far we can be assured that when we stand in the will of Jesus we do the best we can by everyone else as well.
When we do go after Jesus we do not find a new stability in the world itself. In fact, we find less. We find fixed points we once had taken from us. The only fixed point becomes Jesus himself.
“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.”
We want to insist on more. We want to insist on Jesus and home and all of the comforts we think we deserve. But we need to learn, more and more, to insist only on Jesus.
How much less shall I give him any answer,
or choose out arguments against him!
Even though I were right, I could not answer him,
but should rather beg for what was due me.
Job's reverential fear is correct. But perhaps it lacks the appropriate sense that even when he does not understand God's will it is still somehow working for the greatest good of those who love him (see Romans 8:28). Let us have the fear of Job. But let us have even more trust in the love of Jesus for us.
Job might well pray:
Daily I call upon you, O LORD;
to you I stretch out my hands.
Will you work wonders for the dead?
Will the shades arise to give you thanks?
Unlike Job, we know that he will not only work his wonders for the dead, he has done so.
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