Burning Our Boats (13th Sunday Ordinary C)

The world has known Alexander the Great and his powerful army for their fierceness in battles and awesome victories.  For years, they had confidently overcome opposing armies in their conquests.  Legend has it that when Alexander and his men disembarked on the shores of Persia they realized that they were outnumbered. Feeling less confident because they were clearly outmanned, Alexander’s army pleaded to retreat in order to get more men.  But Alexander’s response was quite the opposite of their plea.  He ordered his men to burn their boats! And when their boats, their only means of retreat, went up in flames, Alexander turned to his men and said, “We go home in Persian ships, or we die!”

This is an awesome display of unwavering determination.  To burn one’s boat signifies total commitment to one’s purpose—No more turning back. No more other options to consider. One must go ahead, come hell or high water, and fulfill to the best of one’s ability what one has set out to do. No retreat, no surrender. Do or die!

Today’s gospel reading (Lk 9:51-62) depicts this same unwavering determination on the part of Jesus as He decides to begin his journey to Jerusalem.  And in this context too, the Lord reveals what is demanded of those who wish to follow him in this journey.  Hence, today’s gospel reading is an invitation for us to reflect on the demands of discipleship. Let us bring out, then, and reflect on three demands that the Lord clearly put forth for those who muster their courage to follow the Lord.

Sacrifice.  “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head” (v. 58). This Semitic expression used by the Lord as his reply to the one who wish to follow him means that the disciple must be ready to sacrifice his own comfort and security. Discipleship is a journey. No one sets out on a journey with the Lord without leaving his own comfort zone. One has to let go of his security and face the uncertainties and the element of the unknown inherent in the journey.  Jesus’ own journey to Jerusalem is not a leisurely walk of a tourist in vacation.  In Jesus’ case, Jerusalem is not a tourist destination; rather, it represents his suffering and death as fulfillment of his saving mission. Every step he takes is a confirmation of his willingness to sacrifice everything, even his life, in order to fulfill his mission.

Do we have the courage to sacrifice our own comfort and security in order to follow Christ? Can we forget ourselves in order to take care of those who are suffering, the sick, the elderly, and the orphaned? Can we sacrifice what we have in order to share to those in need? Can we give up our precious time in order to lend an ear to those who are lonely and grieving?

Prioritization of the Kingdom of God. “Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God” (v. 60). We do have valid human concerns and we do value our relationships and family ties. But even these should not hinder us from doing our mission. The proclamation of the reign of God must be the priority of a disciple of Christ. Our human concerns and relationships take a secondary value. Jesus himself was consumed by nothing else but his passion for the reign of God. Everything for him, his family, his own personal concerns, was secondary. It is the proclamation of the reign of God that was central to his mission and gave direction to his own life.

In the face of growing secularization today, do we still see, in our lives, the values of the Kingdom God taking precedence over the values of this world? In the moments of significant decision-making in life, do we decide in favor of and in accordance with the values of God’s Kingdom? Or have we now put on the securalist mindset subscribing to the values of this world which seem to be more practical and attractive?

Single-minded Commitment. “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God” (v. 62). In other words, a disciple must make an unswerving commitment to his mission. Discipleship demands this single-mindedness. The Lord asks his followers to “burn their boats” as they disembark onto the shore of discipleship.  Like Alexander’s army, the Lord’s disciples have to face the challenges ahead unfazed and with a resolute commitment to win the battle. There is no turning back. Jesus himself has shown in today’s gospel that he was “resolutely determined” to journey to Jerusalem where the paschal mystery, his death and resurrection, was to happen.

Today we all deem it wise and practical to always have a back-up plan for any kind of engagement we enter into. In effect, we have wired failure into our subconscious.  We put forward one foot but we keep the other foot on safer ground “just in case.” We have become half-hearted in our commitments. We easily back off when the going gets rough and tough; hence, all the more that we experience failure.  The Lord sees a half-hearted disciple unfit for the kingdom of God. The Lord wants us to journey with him wholeheartedly. Single-mindedly.  In our journey with the Lord, are we keeping some back-up plans? Are we still vacillating? The gospel today asks us that, once and for all, we follow the Lord with undivided commitment. We are asked, as Alexander the Great asked his men, to burn our boats.