Heaven is the true home for followers
Jesus and his followers only find rejection at his destination, Jerusalem
July 1, 2007 -- 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. Michael Stubbs
During the summer months, people will often travel. Some will take a vacation trip. Others will move to a new home in another city because of work or school.
In Sunday's gospel reading, Luke 9:51-62, Jesus is also setting out on a journey. The gospel very solemnly announces the beginning of that trip. "When the days for Jesus' being taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey up to Jerusalem." That sentence does not flow very smoothly in the English translation. It also sounds somewhat awkward in the Greek original. The formality of the gospel's statement emphasizes the importance of this undertaking. When we stumble over it, we are forced to take note.
Jesus' journey will end at the city of Jerusalem. But that does not adequately describe the goal of his journey. Jerusalem has importance because it is the location where Jesus will die on the cross and rise from the dead. When the gospel informs us that Jesus is traveling to Jerusalem, it is telling us that Jesus is journeying to his death and resurrection. Periodically, the gospel will remind us of his destination. For example, Luke 13:22 reads, "He passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem." The journey will last through the remainder of the gospel, 15 more chapters.
By no means does Jesus take the most direct route. He will pass through many towns and villages along the way. He will encounter opposition from his enemies. He will heal the sick and teach the crowds. He will instruct his disciples on how they must follow him.
That is because Jesus is not traveling alone. He picks up followers along the way, who will share in his way of life, as well as in his final destination of death and resurrection.
In Sunday's gospel reading, Jesus warns his would-be followers about the difficulties of the journey. "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."
In this statement, Jesus is not merely alerting his followers to the potential for uncomfortable accommodations on their trip to Jerusalem. There is no Hilton Hotel waiting for them there. Even though Jerusalem is his destination, Jesus will only find rejection in that place. There will be nowhere to rest his head.
On the other hand, Jesus did not appear earlier to lead a completely itinerant life. Matthew 4:13 indicates that he had a home. "He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali." The other synoptic gospels also suggest that Jesus used Capernaum as his base of operations. It was his home.
But the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head. Not even at home. And not even at Jerusalem, which for Jesus as a Jew would serve as his spiritual home. Jesus will find his true home in heaven, where he will be with God. Only there will he be able to rest his head.
That also holds true for his followers. As we accompany Jesus on his journey, we can join with St. Augustine in saying, "Our hearts are restless, until they rest in you."
(Fr. Stubbs, a priest of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas, has a master's degree in theology from Harvard.)
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