Nehemiah 2:1-8; Psalm 136(137):1-6; Luke 9:57-62
The Gospel today tells us that we have to be uncompromising in our discipleship. We are either following Jesus or we are not. The two examples Luke gives - of a recently bereaved man who is told to leave the dead to bury their dead, and the person who just asks if they may first go and say farewell to family and friends and then follow Jesus - are a deliberate use of the technique of hyperbole. Jesus would quite likely have compassion on the bereaved man and would expect us to be charitable to those we must leave as we move on in life.
This exaggerated speech technique - hyperbole - does point out to us that Jesus is saying something of great importance here. If family, friends - our comfortable way of life - are getting between us and progress on our journey with Christ - then we do have to make a difficult decision - following Christ is not always easy.
Right at the end of his Gospel, Luke does let us know that following Jesus will lead to us having the gifts we need to take our Lord into the lives of those we meet on our journey. So, it is quite possible that we will return to those we might have had to leave on the journey and pick up with them again, but this time God might inspire them with faith to also follow on the way.