Grace to you from the Mystery in whom we live and breathe and have our being. I see the Jesus I love, in them.
I will follow you wherever you go.”
As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” And Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
pray the prayer
When I was Director of Christian Growth Services at Remuda Ranch Treatment for Disordered Eating, one of my jobs was to provide a monthly staff chapel. I brought in an outside speaker and a musical team.
Chapels were conducted throughout the day to serve 500 employees through a sprawling facility in Wickenburg, Arizona.
One chapel day, my speaker was Stu Graf, a long time Young Life worker and friend.
During the first chapel, we were interrupted by one of the employees. He questioned Stu about the things he was saying. Stu stated the Bible never quoted Jesus saying ‘worship me’ however, Jesus did say “follow me” 17 times.
Stu also shared a story about a group of wealthy Christian businessmen, and potential donors who were visiting Mother Teresa in Calcutta. One day Teresa was wearing a hijab to attend a feast with a Muslim community just across the road. They asked her why she was doing this knowing they aren’t Christian. She responded, “I see the Jesus I love, in them.”
Stu tried to explain to him the compassion of Jesus as gospel.
Unsatisfied with Stu’s responses, the employee followed us the rest of the day to further debate. At our needed break for lunch the man followed us to the café and confronted Stu again.
Stu set his lunch aside and asked the man, “May I ask you a question?” “If you came across a starving person and you had to make the decision between giving them food or giving them the salvation message, which one would you choose? Keep in mind in this hypothetical dilemma you only have time to choose one. The man said, “That’s easy! I would tell them to pray the prayer.” Stu said, “Ok I hear you.” He evidently left satisfied.
attachments
Jesus is speaking to his would-be followers of attachments. Even the dogma of our belief systems can become an attachment. Jesus said we cannot serve two masters. Every attachment we develop will eventually face a crucial moment of embrace or abandon. We will either choose the king of our obsessions or the King of liberation on earth. If we welcome this invitation of change and transformation, the Spirit will guide our soul into a kingdom where God alone is King.
Jesus was the great liberator. He liberated others from their oppressive attachments. His power was in his devotion to his King he called his heavenly father. His mission was to deliver compassion to the world by being responsive to only one King.
In Jesus’ words his “heavenly Father” is King. Heavenly meaning not of this world. In those patriarchal times, father represented ultimate authority. Heavenly, referred to a kingdom on earth separate from human construct and hierarchy.
We are continually faced with a choice between a king of human domination or a King of sovereign love. The kings of human domination come to us with rewards of power and popularity, prestige and pleasure. They bask in their perceived rightness, flaunt their abundance and serve conventional wisdom for consensus’s sake.
Jesus says these kings of earth are different than the King who rules with love. Kings of this world must have fox holes to hide. They must be like birds able to fly and flee when necessary. In the Kingdom of God where God is King there is no need to hide.
Follow me
Jesus’s potential followers said they would go anywhere and everywhere with Jesus. Jesus warned them of his uncomfortable way of life and would not expect them to live a life of infinite surrender to our sovereign, infinite King. But Jesus said we can be a person led by the Spirit of infinite love. There evidently is not an expectation to become like Jesus, but to be led by the Spirit of Christ.
The one who claimed he wanted to bury his father first, provided a perfect example for Jesus to explain our human attachments. It doesn’t make all attachments wrong, such as burying his father. It just exposes and understanding of our human condition.
Jesus was clear that there is no king on this earth that can rule as God rules. In a kingdom of this world hierarchies are protected. In the Kingdom of Heaven there is no competition for King.
It’s like Michael Jordan in his basketball days. He talked smack to his opponents fairly regularly. But M.J. could back up his smack talk.
The Bible says God is jealous.
People ask, “well isn’t jealousy a sin? Well, it would be for us I guess, because jealousy presumes, we are the greatest. God, however, is the only one worthy to be Jealous because this God who is all in all, has no worthy competitors. God can back any smack talk God chooses to use. However, this divine mystery we call God, this one and only King, chooses to rule with love.
As far as Jesus saying he had nowhere to lay his head; Jesus wasn’t seeking sympathy for not having a memory foam mattress and a Sealy Posturepedic for his head at night. He was metaphorically saying he chose no permanent attachments.
Richard Rohr says it like this, “divine rule that prioritizes servant leadership and relational power, contrasts sharply with earthly notions of kingship. God’s sovereignty is expressed through love, inclusivity, and a kenotic self-emptying, rather than domination or control.” (AI Co-pilot 2025)
My friend Stu offered something to consider in those crucial moments of invitation to follow in The Way of liberation. It’s like choosing food to feed a starving child, it is a liberating life-giving invitation to let go of personal beliefs as an attachment. I invite you to ponder this question sometime. What have I made an attachment? What relationship, project, or belief system no matter how admirable or unseemly has become an attachment. What might your liberation look like?
Amen
Wednesday Respite is a 30-min contemplative service of scripture, prayer, music and a Spirited Touchpoint by Henry Rojas, spiritual director at Spirit in the Desert.
Touchpoint is a reflection on where God’s story touches our life story. It is a short homily based on a biblical story of people in the Old and New Testaments and their relationship with God. Our spiritual ancestors’ experience of God’s grace connects with our lives in the present and our relationship with the Divine. Previous Touchpoints are available as PDFs or on SoundCloud.
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