Let The Dead Bury Their Dead

Let the dead bury their dead. This is perhaps one of the most striking statements our Lord makes in the Gospel. The Church counts burying the dead among the seven corporal works of mercy. Is Jesus really telling us to ignore those who have passed? Hold that thought as you read this Gospel.

Let The Dead Bury Their Dead

Gospel - Matthew 8:18-22

When Jesus saw a crowd around him,

he gave orders to cross to the other shore.

A scribe approached and said to him,

“Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,

but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”

Another of his disciples said to him,

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

But Jesus answered him, “Follow me,

and let the dead bury their dead.”

Scriptural Analysis

Matthew provides a short narrative concerning discipleship. A large crowd had gathered, so Jesus orders his followers to cross the Sea of Galilee. This will take them to the Decapolis, a predominantly Gentile region. This seems like a curious move to run away from the crowd, but Jesus is trying to separate the true disciples —those willing to leave their homes to follow Him —from the curious crowds. Two men express their desire to follow Jesus, but neither truly understands what that means.

First, there is a scribe who states his loyalty to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” However, he does not understand what this actually means. First, as opposed to the man with leprosy or the centurion, both of whom call Jesus Lord, the scribe refers to himself as teacher. This is a title not used by his disciples but rather by those who do not understand the true identity of Jesus. Jesus warns this man that a choice to follow him means a radical lifestyle change. Following an austere lifestyle, a rabbi may not even have a place to lay his head.

The second man states that he wants to follow Jesus, but first, he needs to bury his father. For a Hebrew son, he would have been responsible for caring for his aging Father as well as handling the Jewish burial custom of reburying his father’s bones a year after the passing of his father. So this discussion of needing to bury his Father tells us this man was going to put off becoming a disciple of Christ for a long time. Jesus challenges him to not but if off. Let the dead bury their dead means let those who are not willing to follow Christ take care of this son’s responsibilities at home. In the Mosaic Law, only the high priest and a small group of consecrated Jews were exempt from these obligations, “He shall not go in to any dead bodies nor make himself unclean, even for his father or for his mother. “ (Leviticus 21:11) The fact that Jesus is telling him to ignore these obligations show how vital Christ’s call to discipleship is and the urgency with which that call is answered.

Daily Application

To address the previous question, Christ IS NOT telling us to ignore burying the dead or to stop caring for our families. We still have to do these things. What Christ desires for us, however, is to get our lives in order. The most important thing for us to be concerned with is our eternal salvation. Nothing else should take priority over that. Christ is the avenue through which we obtain our salvation. Therefore, nothing should keep us from becoming Christ’s disciples. If burying the dead causes us to delay in that decision, then ignore it. That applies to any other human activity as well. If that activity keeps us from deciding to follow Christ, then we must eliminate it from our lives.

Purchase Introduction to the Devout Life by Francis de Sales.

Every day, a myriad of things come up, any one of which can cause our priorities to get out of line. In his book Introduction to the Devout Life, Saint Francis de Sales discusses the need to remove all inclination to dangerous and useless things. He writes, “I say that although it is lawful to amuse yourself, to dance, dress, feast, and see seemly plays — at the same time, if you are much addicted to these things, they will hinder your devotion and become extremely hurtful and dangerous to you.” The vast majority of activities in our lives can either draw us to God or push us away from God. As long as they draw us to God, then they are fine, but Saint Francis tells us that the minute they begin to push us away from God, we need to eliminate them from our lives.

Furthermore, we can’t delay, for we do not know the hour when our Lord will return. Start today. If YouTube is preventing you from praying, consider blocking it on your device, such as your phone or computer. If getting donuts after Mass on Sunday causes you to rush out of the church without saying a prayer of thanksgiving, stop eating donuts. If burying the dead keeps you from the spiritual life, then let the dead bury their dead. Nothing in this world is worth endangering your life in the world to come.