detachment: 26th week wednesday 2012 II

One of the criteria for discipleship is detachment.  Detachment means the willingness to cut relationships for something which we realize is of higher importance; the readiness to leave behind the things we value for the sake of the call.

The willingness to cut, the readiness to leave behind – this is what detachment is all about and time and again this will be demanded from somebody who intends to follow Jesus in a more intimate way.

In the gospel this detachment is exemplified by one’s readiness to leave one of the most important of human relations – the family.  Imagine having to deprive oneself of attending the funeral of your father.  Imagine having to go without saying goodbye properly to your family.  These two occasions of leave takings are just too important to miss, but Jesus is illustrating to us that to follow him we have to be willing to leave what is most important behind, we have to be ready to respond to his urgent call to the point of forgoing even just the courtesy of saying goodbye. 

Detachment is important and it is a daily practice - the dying to my own conveniences, the dying to my thoughts and ways of thinking and doing, the dying to what I like so that I can do what God wants.