No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God. Jesus does not hold back in today’s Gospel when articulating the demands of discipleship. As he makes clear, Jesus takes precedence over one’s father who has died or over one’s family. Discipleship calls for a radical re-ordering of one’s life around the Lord who shows us the way to the Father and pours out his Spirit.
Today’s saint, Francis of Assisi, is an outstanding example of one who radically reoriented his life to follow Christ. Forsaking his family and his fortune, he chose to follow Jesus in poverty, thereby doing much to rebuild and revitalize the Church in a difficult age. We may not all be called to follow Francis’s example exactly, giving up family and property to follow Christ, but we are called to follow his radical dedication to Jesus. If the Lord were to call us today to forsake everything, or to serve him in a difficult mission, would we be willing? Is Jesus that central to our lives?
Today, let us make an examination of our dedication to Christ, asking Francis of Assisi to intercede for us and help us grow in love. And in a special way, let us pray for the Synod which opens today in Rome, asking the Spirit to guide all involved, filling them with the evangelical zeal of Francis.