Here Jesus comes off as dismissive and challenging in two different encounters. A scribe approached him and gushed a bit about how he would follow Jesus wherever he went. He was trying to please Jesus and capture his positive attention. Jesus rather grimly replied that everyone, even every animal, had a home, but he did not. We don’t actually think the scribe followed Jesus. He went back to his very nice home, for he was a person of standing and power, and let Jesus walk away. Think of all he missed by not following. He missed knowing Jesus and being his friend.
The next man said, “Hey, I need to bury my father.” He might not have been saying, “The funeral is tomorrow;” he might have meant, “My parents are getting old, and I can’t leave them; I will care for them until they pass away, and then I will come and follow you.” Jesus urged him to leave behind his father and follow Jesus. We don’t think he did follow Jesus. Think of all he missed by not following. He missed knowing Jesus and being his friend.
Jesus listened to these men who seemed to have good intentions but no follow-through. One wanted to flatter Jesus, but then not to follow him. One wanted to work out a special exception and follow later. Jesus said, “Follow now. Be willing to forgo your security and come with me now. Come with me now though the world says you should wait. Come with me now though you have prior obligations. Follow me!”
Jesus was saying that there will be inconvenience and loss and sacrifice and logistical difficulties in following him. For some of his followers, even today, there is the loss of health and life if the powers-that-be don’t support Christianity. There was, and is, a cost to following Jesus. But it may be that as you reflect, in this society that accepts and supports our faith, you cannot think of any way that you have paid a price for following him. You may wonder, after these two encounters, what excuses you might have made for not immediately following him. We may put leisure or wealth or social standing, comfort of body and soul, relationships, or habits we want to continue though we know they are not right in the way of following Jesus. We all should take time to think about what deflects us from Jesus.