One sunny day a pig and a chicken are discussing how they will be able to help the poor in their neighborhood. The chicken says to the pig, “Because of poverty, so many people are hungry. I suggest that we give them ham and egg for breakfast.” The pig retorts, “That’s a generous suggestion, but unfair. For you, egg is a donation. For me, ham is self-sacrifice.”
In today’s Gospel (Lk 9:51-62), Jesus has “resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem” (9:51) to offer his life as a sacrifice. He makes his firm resolve to sacrifice his life that we may not go hungry anymore. In Jerusalem, he offers his body and blood as our eternal food.
“On the way” (9:52) he teaches his disciples what it takes to follow him in his total giving of himself on the cross to give us life:
- “The Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head” (9:58).
- “Let the dead bury their dead” (9:60).
- “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God” (9:62).
In these sayings, Jesus speaks of the unconditional nature of discipleship. Like him, we can only offer ourselves as a sacrifice if we detach ourselves from any material comfort and security of the home and if we commit ourselves to the urgency of proclaiming God’s Kingdom. This may even mean having no time to bury relatives and saying goodbye to our family properly. For his Jewish hearers who take burial of the dead and family ties as important cultural values, these are hard sayings of Jesus. But this is “the way” to follow Jesus who gives us both “ham and egg for breakfast” at the Eucharist.