The Cost of Discipleship (The Mass Readings Explained)

This week's video for The Mass Readings Explained is now out for the 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time on the cost of discipleship.  Enjoy!

Catholic Productions' Notable Quote:

"Now again, in a 1st Century Jewish context, it’s fascinating because both of those images, putting your hand to the plow and looking back, would echo two Old Testament passages. The first one is the call of Eli’sha, the prophet, the successor to Eli’jah, whom Eli’jah calls while he’s plowing the fields.

So here’s another Eli’jah- Eli’sha echo in this gospel reading for today. Jesus is like a new Eli’jah, calling his disciples to be like new Eli’sha’s (new prophetic successors), and just like Eli’sha was plowing the field and left if behind to follow Eli’jah, so now Jesus is saying to his disciples, even more, “Don’t even put your hand to the plow. If you do, you’re not fit to be my disciple.” And the other image is of course Lot’s wife in Genesis 19, who looks back not to Egypt, but looks back to the sinful city of Sodom in longing for what’s being lost when the city’s destroyed.

And there’s your other parallel, it’s fascinating. They’re calling down fire from heaven on the Samaritans, that’s an echo of Sodom, the image of looking back here makes you think of Lot’s wife, also an image of Sodom and Gomorrah. So Jesus here is calling for a radical detachment from past life, from past sins, but also from good things, like parents and family and land."