My wife and I were blessed to be away this weekend on a spiritual retreat. We reflected on the following verse from Luke 14: 26-33. The question before us is to be a follower of Christ has a “cost “. And as the scripture says, one should seriously calculate the cost before saying yes. The example … don’t start building a tower unless you know you can compete it But, the hardest part of this gospel for me- it’s in a sense even scandalous - Jesus says if you want to follow me, you must HATE your mother and father, wife, husband, sister, brother, etc. It also says you must renounce all your possessions. I’ve really been reflecting quite a late on this verse….. it was actually a wonderful catechisis that I received. What are your thoughts? I will share mine later ….. Great crowds were traveling with him, and he turned and addressed them, "If any one comes to me without hating his father 7 and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, 'This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.' Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.
I think Jesus is speaking of disinterest. You can love your family members, but it must be with a disinterested love: No selfishness...nothing in it for yourself. In essence, actually loving Christ in them, and so truly loving God, and loving neighbor for the love of God. Absolutely everything must be ordered toward God. And so the "hating" family and oneself is seeing everyone for what they actually are on their own: nothing/worthless, apart from God. But once you truly love God for His own sake, you then truly love others as He calls you to do. And you can walk away from any of them if He calls you to do so. Same for possessions. You can "renounce" your possessions without actually giving them all away. You can renounce your attachment to them. Use them for what you need but don't be proud of them or greedy, and be willing to give any of them up if God calls you to do so. All of your love, longing, and attachment must be for God alone. That's the way I see it. (Though I'm obviously NOT there myself and will probably work on it until I die. I guess that's hopefully good enough for Christ...that we have this goal in mind and continually work at it.)
If the love for any of the people that Jesus mentioned (mother, father, etc.), or even our own life, becomes an end unto itself, then it has become in essence an idol that we worship and this is a sin against the First Commandment. If the love for any of those same people, or our own life, is rightly ordered (for the greater honor and glory of God the Father, following the Words and example of God the Son, Jesus Christ(and His body, the Church), and through, with, and in the love of God the Holy Ghost) then we are dropping all sense of ego so that we might pick up our cross (in Christ) and help to do no less than bring about the salvation of the world. On this Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, our only job is our Faith filled response to our co-present, eternal God’s self revelation through His Son Jesus Christ, in the love of His Spirit. This experience of Jesus we then pass on to others through the one Church He founded, until the eighth day, when all will be all within the Most Holy Trinity. This we can encounter dimly even now, every time we say the Great Amen. What are we saying Amen too? Jesus says,“Through Him, with Him, in Him. In the unity of the Holy Spirit. All glory and honor are yours almighty Father. Forever and ever.” Amen (so be it. All is all at home in The Holy Trinity once more). Peace. Ed
Detachment can sound like a very cold thing. Our Lady of Sorrows is such a brilliant example. She offered up Jesus Himself. She loved Him but let Him go . It is said that thoughts of His Passion never left her for a second. So hers was a Perpetual Surrender .
I think Ed Kleese got it spot on..."If the love for any of the people that Jesus mentioned (mother, father, etc.), or even our own life, becomes an end unto itself, then it has become in essence an idol that we worship" AND...... If the love for any of those same people, or our own life, is rightly ordered (for the greater honor and glory of God the Father, following the Words and example of God the Son, Jesus Christ(and His body, the Church), and through, with, and in the love of God the Holy Ghost) then we are dropping all sense of ego so that we might pick up our cross (in Christ) and help to do no less than bring about the salvation of the world. I personally know people whose entire life revolves around their kids...but hardly a thought about God!
Yes. I have been so moved by this over the years. She willed what the Father willed and never refused anything ever. There is a passage in The Way of Divine Love where she tells Sister Joseph about Simeon's words. Ever after she could not forget what cruel suffering was ahead for her Child. That is a martyrdom like no other. No wonder the Church calls her Queen of Martyrs.
I'm not sure that this can be applied to all the Jews of His day, but Jesus sometimes uses hyperbole to drive home His message; in such cases we don't take Him literally. As above: Luke 14: 26 “If any one comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. But then: Matthew 5: 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. And also: Matthew 18:8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire. And also: Luke 14:33 So therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. [I think he asked this directly of only the young, rich man]
The heart of a mother! You know, I love my children and they me, but the bond they have with Geralyn runs very, very deep. JoeJerk has tried to rouse jealousy within me on this account, but to no avail. I live with a saint and she doesn't even realize it; she has a sacrificial heart.
+++ This passage has special meaning for me.. We are to Obey Jesus more than even our parents, etc, and etc. Which is never easy whatsoever when put to that task by, e.g. a loving parent's demand which in some manner yes interferes with one's Faith-convictions ... as I have.. Another explained it thus. Jesus’ statement that we “hate” father and mother must be seen in relation to the whole of Scripture. His point is not that we are to be heartless toward our families, only that we must love Him more.
This passage has already been expounded on so well I hesitate to add any more to it. But I suppose all Scripture is like an Eternal Well, we can squeeze the grapes of the Word forever and still draw forth an endless and Eternal Wine forever. There is a beautiful old house in the street directly facing me. It used to be owned by a wonderful old grandmother who lived there on her own. A really sweet woman who got really old and started falling down the stairs on a regular basis but insisted on staying till one day they found the poor lady dead, having fallen down the stairs the night before. Two young married ones moved into the rather out of condition house which I believe they inherited from the grandmother. In their turn about five years ago they had an only son, a child which they totally, totally dote on. He is their little Prince, the centre of their entire life. I was interested in observing this as I myself came from a family of ten children and I doubt very much if I was the centre of anyone's attention for much more than a few months when I too young I suppose to ever notice it too much. The was always one child just left the lap and another new one just on the way. So to see an only child so much the centre or attention and for such a long time , for myself, is kind of startling. But I do wonder uneasily sometimes when I see the three of them together what would happen if something were to happen to this child ? They have invested so much in it, how would they manage without it? He having become in a real sense their God? Their reason for living. All things pass away, nothing is permanent. I think you have to be older to truly realise this fact. That mans rises in the morning as Scripture tells us, but by evening withers away. I am at the evening and yes you really do start withering away. I don't mind this in fact I rather enjoy it. My eyes have pretty well always been heaven set. Psalm 103:15 14For He knows our frame; He is mindful that we are dust. 15As for man, his days are like grass— he blooms like a flower of the field; 16when the wind passes over, it vanishes, and its place remembers it no more.… Are the young couple wrong then to love as much as they do? Love is always right, always goo, but it must always be centered ordered in God. Strictly speaking we own nothing at all, not even out own bodies and souls. They all belong to God. We must be ready at any moment to hand everything back. We are all going to die so that everything we have and everything we are will have to given back to the Hands of He who gave us them in the first place. Sometimes with people to test them I mention Death and its inevitable coming. You can pretty well tell how far along the Spiritual Journey a person is by they way they discuss Death. Their acceptance of it as an inevitable reality. You can never loose anything at all if you have never thought you owned anything in the first place. 1 Corinthians 15:55 Where, O Death, is Your Victory? …54When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come to pass: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 55“Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?” 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.…
This Scripture passage is just so important in these present days when Catholic Prophecy informs we are about to loose everything, even the ability to practice our Faith in a public manner. The best kind of Prep for all this is a Spiritual One. For if interiorly we have let everything go , we no longer have anything to loose. A wonderful place to be.
Very good answers! I think a lot of persons in our time have to deal with this passage in their lives, especially with the gay and abortion issues that are dividing families. Many persons are torn between their families and being a disciple of Christ. Jesus said He wanted to come to start a fire, and that fire is now ripping through the world. If our love for Christ is so massive that in comparison we "hate" even our closest human loves, we will not hesitate to walk away from our loves of this world and follow Christ to the cross, to endure spitting, heckling, and buffets along the way.
