The fox’s lair

According to Matthew, Jesus said that “foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20). The lairs or dens of foxes are also called “foxholes”.

They are easy to identify in nature as they are usually located on hillsides orientated towards the south. When the fox digs this lair, it removes the soil and spreads it in all directions around the entrance, thus forming a kind of fan shape, without any vegetation that might give it away. Inside, the vixen gives birth to its cubs and suckles them until they grow enough to be able to leave the lair.

As regards the nests of birds, they are normally built in tree-tops, in locations which are sufficiently inaccessible, in order to protect them from predators. Their appearance, size, structure and materials vary a great deal and depend on the species in question. So every animal in the natural world has been perfectly designed and instinctively builds the den, lair or nest that is best suited to it.

This saying of Jesus is the answer he gives to the scribe who expressed his desire to follow him everywhere. However, the Lord never promised anyone that following him would be a cakewalk, but quite the opposite. He himself had to renounce many things in his earthly life. One of these things was precisely something as common and necessary as a place he could call home. He divested himself of all that might constitute a stumbling block in his journey towards Calvary. Therefore, Jesus also showed his followers that following him faithfully would imply many privations and personal sacrifices.

It is not that he literally did not have a bed to sleep on. It goes without saying that he often slept in the homes of the friends and family members who hosted him. Whether in the home of Peter in Capernaum, or in that of Martha, Mary and Lazarus in Bethany, or in his mother’s home, the Master had somewhere to sleep. What this saying means is that these homes were not his own property, because his travelling life and ministry did not require such property. Jesus and his disciples lived off the generosity of other people (Luke 8:1-3). The Son of God, the heir of all creation, dispensed with everything but a Roman cross. On that cross he found the bed on which he rested his head.

As the apostle Paul wrote, “Though he was rich he became poor, so that we, by his poverty, might be made rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). His birth in a stable was poor; he had no title deeds to his name; the robe that he wore was gifted to him by some women; the colt that he rode into Jerusalem was borrowed; the inn where he celebrated the last supper was likewise borrowed, and even the tomb where he was buried belonged to a secret friend. Paradoxically, the one who owned the whole universe, owned virtually nothing on earth.

If Jesus Christ lived like this, how should we who say we follow him live? It was never easy to imitate Jesus. Most of the disciples suffered horrific deaths because they preached the gospel. Maybe this can help us correctly to evaluate what is important in life. In our consumption-driven world, we Christians must live in such a way that we are reclaiming austerity and sobriety. Where is our treasure located?

Antonio Cruz, biologist and theologian.