Jesus’ response to the concerned son can seem quite the lack of compassion. We are to honor our father and mother, no? It might even seem hypocritical when contrasted with the fact that John tells us Jesus saw to the care of his own mother even as he hung from the cross.
But some other considerations might help.
Perhaps the man’s father wasn’t even close to dying. In that case, his request could certainly seem like procrastination. Or, Jesus, despite the harsh appearance, could be using the moment to set a pretty strong metaphor. “My mission is about life. Leave death behind.”
Jesus doesn’t seem to have too much compassion for the things of death. It was at a funeral that he told the musicians to go home rather dismissively before raising the dead little girl. He didn’t let Lazarus stay dead any longer when he arrived. And of course, he himself vanquished his own death. Maybe he was just making a point.
(It might be notable that Matthew says the man was already one of Jesus’ disciples.)
Matthew 8:18-22
Now when Jesus saw the crowd, he ordered his disciples to go over to the other side of the lake. A legal expert came and said to him, “Teacher, I’ll follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens, and the birds in the sky have nests, but the Human One has no place to lay his head.”
Another man, one of his disciples, said to him, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”
But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
Prayer
God,
I’m not always able to discern the lines between excuse-making, discernment, and self-advocacy. Many things today can be easily conflated. For instance, I’m pretty sure that while self-comfort isn’t always bad, it is certainly not wholly equivalent with self-care.
So help me, God: Give me the gumption to follow you with all I have while still yet being a reasonable human. You created us with reason - the ability to think things through. So give me the right mind-path to do so, and yet also be wholly sold out for you and your Kingdom.
By your spirit & in Christ,
Amen.