Wednesday 26th November 2025

St Matthew 8: 18 – 22

Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. A scribe then approached and said, ‘Teacher, 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.’  Another of his disciples said to him, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’  But Jesus said to him, ‘Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.’

Reflection

The several quotations in this passage mean I don’t know quite where to start.  “I will follow you” is clearly Sister Act and “Foxes have holes” is a reminder of Stanley Spencer’s painting of the same name.   For me “let the dead bury their dead” is an echo from a short story in a children’s anthology long ago.   I could understand Jesus’ comment but the anthology story, which was supposed to help understanding, defeated me.  It was about someone gloating over a stolen or won-by-cheating prize cup saying they (the other competitors) are dead: let the dead bury the dead, a nasty kind of winner’s comment.  I suspected the original story was a commentary on the discovery and excavation of pyramids, nothing to do with Christian faith. 

Possibly too well drilled in Sunday School, I could understand the immediacy of Jesus’ response, and had not yet felt the tearing in multiple directions to commitment to faith, to family or to a sense of propriety.   It is something we are increasingly challenged by, as parents become grandparents, great grandparents and even great great grandparents.   Do we give up a career to take over a family business, give up holidays or arrange respite care for grandparents, or even return to be at the funeral of a great grandparent?   There is no clear answer, only every family or person’s response: what does your family expect?  

Coming from a family where such eventualities are thought-through, events such as funerals or death cafes seem odd, but then no odder than a modern society where there are adverts “have you thought about yours?” and can be valuable against generational shock.   We are given this opportunity to discuss, debate, and decide.  Jesus’ answer was meant to be shocking in a society where care for a parent was a priority caused by a shared faith.  His answer was a response to the longing for a Way.   

Prayer

Lord, help us to discuss and debate
so that we are able to prepare 
for a future of commitment 
to faith or family or formality.  
Then to share and understand 
when the answer is different for each person.
Amen