Proper 8 Year C

Proper 8

2 Kings 2.1–14
Galatians 5.1, 13–25
Luke 9.51–end

‘Leave the dead to bury their dead.’ One of Jesus’ starkest commands, this flies in the face of the sacred Jewish obligation to attend to the burial of one’s father ahead of all other duties, even saying one’s daily prayers. Jesus’ kingdom-announcement is so urgent, so unique, that it must either be followed, grasped and proclaimed totally or lost altogether. The family, a central and vital symbol of the people of God, is thus radically redefined. Following Jesus at once is the only thing that counts...