Following Jesus

Matthew 8:18-20 - Seeing a great crowd around him, Jesus ordered them to go to the other side. And a scribe came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have their dens and birds of the air their nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."

I will follow you wherever you go. This is so easy to say and so hard to actually do. Jesus goes where love is needed. Where healing is wanted. Where comfort is lacking. To the last, the least, and the lost. Yet, he goes a step beyond - "the other side" can also be translated as "beyond." Clearly it means the other side of the lake in this context, but I want to think about "beyond."

Because Jesus goes beyond being with the marginalized - he identifies with them, in fact, becomes one of them in order to minister to them. Now, I am not saying that we should all be homeless. I am saying that for me, my possessions surround me and form a barrier to love coming in. This is Peter's thing as well. To be in the midst of those we are ministering to and to recognize that they minister to us as well. Perhaps more so depending on the day! This is what the Catholic Worker House was/is about. Living in community and communion with those on the margins. I can feel myself slowly doing this. Slowly. It is so hard to just chuck it all and go. Beyond.

Following Jesus means going beyond again and again. Not knowing where we'll end up! Going beyond. How do I need to go beyond today?
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