28 May Thurs – Will you follow Me?

Voice: Jennifer

Today is Thursday, 28th of May. Take a moment to be still in His presence.

Psalm 143:1-8

Hear my prayer, O Lord;
    give ear to my pleas for mercy!
    In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
²Enter not into judgment with your servant,
    for no one living is righteous before you.

³For the enemy has pursued my soul;
    he has crushed my life to the ground;
    he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
⁴Therefore my spirit faints within me;
    my heart within me is appalled.

⁵I remember the days of old;
    I meditate on all that you have done;
    I ponder the work of your hands.
⁶I stretch out my hands to you;
    my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah

⁷Answer me quickly, O Lord!
    My spirit fails!
Hide not your face from me,
    lest I be like those who go down to the pit.
⁸Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
    for in you I trust.
Make me know the way I should go,
    for to you I lift up my soul.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as It was in the beginning, is
now, and shall be forever. Amen.

Luke 9
⁵⁷As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”
⁵⁸And 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.”
⁵⁹To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
⁶⁰And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
⁶¹Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.”
⁶²Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God

Will you follow Me?

As Jesus journeyed toward Jerusalem, three persons expressed a desire to follow Him. Each conversation reveals something important about discipleship.

1. “I will follow you wherever you go.”

Jesus replied:

“Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
— Gospel of Luke

Jesus was not discouraging the man. He was correcting his expectations.

Of course, Jesus Himself would at times have rested in homes and slept on ordinary beds. So His words carry a deeper symbolic message.

By instinct, we are naturally drawn to comfort and security. These desires shape many of our priorities each day. Like birds, we are constantly building or improving our “nests” — securing our lives, planning ahead, and trying to create stability.

Yet in following Christ, these comforts and securities are never guaranteed, nor should they become our motivation for discipleship.

To follow Jesus is to learn that He Himself is our true home.

2. “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”

The request sounds entirely reasonable. It speaks of family duty and responsibility. We Asians might call this filial piety.

Yet Jesus responds:

“Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

At first, this sounds severe.

But we know Jesus was not indifferent to grief or funerals. In Gospel of John, at Lazarus’ death, He stood with Mary and Martha and entered deeply into their sorrow.

So we should not miss the hyperbolic force of His words.

In any culture — especially in Asian culture — the funeral of one’s father carries profound significance. Everything is set aside. Life pauses to honour one’s parent.

Yet Jesus is saying that if even this stands in the way of obedience to His call, then our allegiance to Him must still come first.

Jesus often used startling language to make this point.

In Gospel of Luke He says:

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters… he cannot be my disciple.”

At first glance, this seems to contradict His teaching on love, honour, and compassion. But in the Jewish way of speaking, “hate” here is a strong comparative expression. It does not mean literal hostility.

Rather, Jesus is teaching that our loyalty to Him must be so ultimate that every other attachment becomes secondary by comparison.

3. “Let me first say farewell…”

Again, it sounds like a reasonable request.

But Jesus says:

“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

A farmer cannot plough straight while constantly turning around. The furrows will wander.

The image is vivid. Discipleship requires a forward gaze.

To follow Christ is not merely to begin with enthusiasm, but to persevere with resolve — not constantly glancing back at what we left behind, or wondering whether another path might have been easier.

At first glance, Jesus’ replies may sound demanding.

Yet they are also deeply freeing.

Christ calls us to a single-hearted life — to be steadfast, undivided, and wholly anchored in Him.

For when He becomes our first love, our true home, and our clear direction, we are able to walk forward with freedom and peace. ✨

We pray the Prayer of St. Ambrose of Milan, 339-397

O Lord, who hast mercy upon all,
take away from me my sins,
and mercifully kindle in me the fire of thy Holy Spirit.
Take away from me the heart of stone,
and give me a heart of flesh,
a heart to love and adore thee,
a heart to delight in thee,
to follow and to enjoy thee,
for Christ’s sake. Amen.

Be blessed by The Summons by John Bell. This is a song written by the Iona Community and released in 1987.

Will you come and follow me
If I but call your name?
Will you go where you don’t know
And never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown,
Will you let my name be known,
Will you let my life be grown
In you and you in me?

Will you leave yourself behind
If I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind
And never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare
Should your life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer
In you and you in me?

Will you let the blinded see
If I but call your name?
Will you set the prisoners free
And never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean,
And do such as this unseen,
And admit to what I mean
In you and you in me?

Will you love the ‘you’ you hide
If I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside
And never be the same?
Will you use the faith you’ve found
To reshape the world around,
Through my sight and touch and sound
In you and you in me?

Lord, your summons echoes true
When you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you
And never be the same.
In your company I’ll go
Where your love and footsteps show.
Thus I’ll move and live and grow
In you and you in me.

Link to today’s Morning Office

Daily Devotion