God First!

Monday, June 29, 2025

Gen 18:16-33; Mt 8:18-22

In today’s Gospel, Jesus helps us understand that discipleship means to put God first in our lives. 

The Gospel is intriguing because Jesus’ response appears contradictory. But if we analyse Jesus’ response closely, he invites his disciples to realign their priorities. 

When it is the scribe who wants to follow him, Jesus warns him that even the basic comforts like having a place to sleep are not guaranteed. To rephrase Jesus’ statement into a question, he is asking, ‘Am I enough for you?’ Here, Jesus is calling for absolute trust, even though the life of a disciple is uncertain and difficult. In other words, Jesus wants us to completely rely on him, even if it means losing everything else. 

When it is one of his disciples, Jesus encourages him to immediately follow him, though such an invitation would have challenged his respectful affection for his father. Scholars have debated the meaning of the text, wondering if it has to do with a funeral or receiving the ancestral inheritance before committing to Jesus. Whatever it is, Jesus’ response demands that even important family duties should not come before following him. Undivided affection is the call here. 

Let us pray that, as Christians, we may be ready to put God first in our lives.

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar