Grace and peace to you from God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.

Life is full of burdens. It's more apparent to many of us as we interact with people suffering from the faltering economy. Even if we are not directly affected we know of someone that is unemployed or underemployed. When you are familiar with a person you start to notice little nuances that alert you that this acquaintance is carrying a burden.

In Dayton and much of Ohio the unemployment rate is very high due to the lagging auto industry. The assistant manager of the hotel I stay at has a finance background but has been in the hotel industry for two years due to the lack of finance positions. Although this person is very upbeat I could sense something wasn't quite right this week. Making a little inquiry lead to her sharing disenchantment with her position for twenty minutes. Still positive though she ended with an appreciation that difficult times make a person stronger. The frustration of underemployment and working with uncooperative individuals was taking its toll this week. I'm sure that knowing that employment prospects are not likely to change any time soon compounds the frustration.

In our gospel reading we see that Jesus had a burden as well. In fact at first read it seems like Jesus is having a bad day and decides to take it out on everyone that approaches Him.

As we read Jesus determines it is time to turn toward Jerusalem for the last time. He knows what is in store for Him. Regardless of the cost to his human body He is resolute to do the will of the Father. As Jesus and His followers approach the Samaritan village they find that the villagers turn them away because they are headed to Jerusalem. James and John ask whether they should call down fire on the village. The hatred between the Jews and Samaritans is displayed by the actions of the villagers and the disciples. This hatred goes back centuries to the return from Babylon. Jesus rebukes them for their inquiry.

You may wonder as I whether James and John really had the power to call down fire from heaven. Whether they really had that power is immaterial. Jesus could certainly call down fire without any need to check with James or John. Their question is an opportunity for us to see the compassion of Jesus. He is not vengeful as the embittered rivalry of the Jews and Samaritans of their day. Jesus rebukes them for their attitude to be vengeful against the villagers.

As we read on Jesus encounters three different men. Each encounter seems to end in a harsh statement by Jesus.

The first man said to Jesus, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." What an odd response. In truth Jesus didn't have a home in this world and his journey was taking Him out of this world. At the end of the journey on that first Good Friday He was stripped of all worldly possessions and left to die. Jesus had less than the foxes and the birds. As this man, we may say we will follow Him anywhere but anywhere could mean having less than the foxes and the birds. Jesus could see the enthusiasm of the man didn't have substance. Are we any more sincere than this man? Do we really understand what it means to follow Him anywhere?

The next man Jesus asks to follow Him. But the man wants to bury His father first. That seems to be a perfectly legitimate request to bury his father then return to follow. Again Jesus responds in a harsh manner, let the dead bury the dead. Jesus is not forbidding the man from burying His father. The Jews considered burial a religious rite which took precedence over everything, even reading the Law. What Jesus is saying is that the man's priorities are wrong and misguided. There is nothing we can do for the dead our focus should always be on the living.

The third man tells Jesus he will follow Him but wants to go home and say goodbye to his family. Is Jesus being critical of wanting to care for family? The response is an analogy about plowing a field. If you try to plow a field by looking back instead of forward you are not going to have nice straight furrows. The response is more about the attitude of looking back rather than plowing ahead. How often are we attempting to move ahead by living in the past, carrying baggage that constantly distracts us from moving forward?

At first we may have thought Jesus was just having a bad day. Working backwards we find that the apparently harsh words to the three men were really about their priorities of life. In essence Jesus is reiterating the two most important commandments: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. The second, Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matt 22:37-40)

The Son of Man was telling these men to truly put Him first. Not in words but in actions. What appeared to be burdensome words where truly words of encouragement and freedom. Jesus took the burden for us every step of the way to Jerusalem. He did it because He knew we couldn't adhere to His commandments. His compassion for His people is greater than our burdens. Each burden and failing is blotted out with His blood.

Everyday we approach Jesus on the road and He asks us to follow Him. In well intentioned words we answer I will. Yet we also daily lack the resolve to keep our priorities as they should be. We are selfish we don't put Him first as we should. I'm sure sometimes in tears and sometimes in laughter He watches us try to plow the fields by looking backward. We leave random furrows across the fields but in His endless love for us He smoothes out the field and let's us try again.

How much easier it would be to look ahead to the only one that can keep the furrows straight, Jesus Christ.

Amen.