Search

Results

The inner word

04 Sep 2016 - Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Do you have what it takes to be a disciple? Don’t panic: You don’t have to “hate” your family. Though Jesus’ words sound as strong then as they do now, see them in terms of the rest of what he says in the gospel passage, the big message of which is: Measure your resources before starting on something, like a king contemplating giving battle or a builder sizing up whether he can afford to complete a structure. That means being ready to renounce your possessions and to put your faith ahead of all else—including your family if it came to that, though it probably never will. More certain is the possibility that following Jesus will involve taking up the cross at some point. Are we prepared to make the necessary sacrifices?

sacrifices take up the cross hate your family

Restricted
Exploring the word

04 Sep 2016 - Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

It was meant to be the deal breaker, and it was. Hate your parents? Your siblings? Hate your spouse and children? Who can do this? Who can imagine Jesus would even want this? Matthew quotes this teaching, softening the blow: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me” (10:37). To speak of higher loves is the kind of religion most of us can live with. It makes sense that Jesus demands our allegiance above all others—it makes sense, though many of us aren’t ready to accept that requirement. Our families are precious to us. We build our lives around the ideal of our happiness together. We’re rarely prepared to put any priority above that fundamental loyalty. Yet Jesus does ask it of us. Not just ask: He draws this precise line in the sand between disciples and fakers. Luke chooses theatrical hyperbole in casting this teaching in terms of hate rather than higher love. Considering the style of Semitic discourse back then (and now!), Luke’s version is closer to what Jesus actually said. Turning your back on family is exactly what Jesus asks every disciple along the way to do. It’s what Elijah required of the farmer Elisha when he threw the prophetic mantle around his shoulders. Say goodbye to your folks, burn the yoke, and roast the oxen. You’re done here! Renunciation of the old life and a total embrace of the new is how conversion works. You can’t plow a new furrow while looking back over your shoulder. If the old way has a hold on you, looking backward immobilizes you into a pillar of salt. Both Testaments are on board with this teaching, and are equally dramatic about it. Abram and Sarai must leave home and family to gain a land of promise and propagate a nation. Moses abandons his obscure shepherd’s life to become God’s man in Egypt. Throughout history, prophets are called and sent, despite the risk and the domestic cost. Did Amos wonder what was happening to his orchards back in Tekoa while he was denouncing Samaria? Walking away from the secure and familiar is what the freedom of the children of God is for. The word “familiar” includes, of course, family. The word hate remains the deal breaker for many. Our world teems with hatred, and the media brings deeds of hate into our homes every hour. The chemistry of hate burns in the chest, destroys its host, and spreads harm everywhere. We don’t want to absorb that awful feeling. So forget emotions, and contemplate the real mandate, which is to renounce anything that stands in the way of fidelity to God’s call in your life. That’s challenge enough! Related scripture links Jesus takes the lowest place: Phil. 2:3-11 Gospel teachings on humility: Matt. 5:3-11; 18:1-5; 20:20-28; Luke 6:20-26; 9:46-48; 17:7-10; 18:9-17 Paul’s struggles with humility: 2 Cor. 12:7-10 Catechism links Humility: CCC 525-526; 559; 724; 2540; 2559; 2628; 2631; 2706; 2713

Authors Alice Camille

hate your family higher loves

Restricted
In other words

04 Sep 2016 - Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

One day when large groups of people were walking along with him, Jesus turned and told them, “Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one’s own self!—can’t be my disciple. Anyone who won’t shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can’t be my disciple. “Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn’t first sit down and figure the cost so you’ll know if you can complete it? If you only get the foundation laid and then run out of money, you’re going to look pretty foolish. Everyone passing by will poke fun at you: ‘He started something he couldn’t finish.’ “Or can you imagine a king going into battle against another king without first deciding whether it is possible with his ten thousand troops to face the twenty thousand troops of the other? And if he decides he can’t, won’t he send an emissary and work out a truce? “Simply put, if you’re not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can’t be my disciple” (from Luke 14). From A New Message 4 Next Week (actapublications.com) based on The Message: Catholic/Ecumenical Edition by Eugene Peterson (ACTA Publications, 2013).

hate your family sacrifices

Restricted