Dear
Parishioners,
There are some very
strong, radical words spoken by Jesus in this Sunday’s Gospel:
If anyone
comes to me without hating his father 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. (Lk.
14: 26-27)
For
those who may like to sugarcoat the Gospel message, avoid the tough sayings of
Jesus and sometimes paint Jesus as some type of pushover, think again. Jesus
was often bold in word and deed. Did he
not ridicule the Scribes and Pharisees as being hypocrites (Mt. 23: 13, 23, 25, 27, 29), blind guides (Mt. 23:16), a brood of vipers (Mt. 23: 33) or whitewashed
tombs (Mt. 23:27)? Did He not refer to Peter as Satan (Mt. 16:23)? Did he not overturn
the tables of the money-changers in the Jerusalem temple (Jn. 2: 13-16)? While, at other times, he could be most
gentle and merciful in the Scriptures, he definitely could call people to task
and raise great challenges.
How, then, are we to understand
the above statement when placed up against other times in the Gospel where
Jesus teaches us to love one another?
(See Jn. 13:34, 15:12) Jesus could use types of hyperbole in his speech to jolt people. By this technique, He made a most definitive
point: nothing can get in the way of our Christian discipleship. I suggest we should think and act in terms of
making an absolute, radical commitment to Jesus. No, not even family members, or, most especially,
our own particular wants and desires can get in the way. Absolutely nothing!
Is this a tough
challenge? Most certainly it is! But do we really think that if we put the
love of Jesus Christ first and foremost in our lives, that we will neglect and show
no love for our family and others? On
the contrary, loving Jesus completely, while imitating His self-sacrificing love, helps us to experience what true love is all
about! Christian love will flow most
naturally to those in our family and, as it is perfected, will extend mysteriously even to our enemies.
Self-sacrifice (carrying the cross) has become a foreign
concept to many in our society who regularly seek self-gratification and
personal gain. Jesus teaches us that it
can never be all about me, myself and I. The universe does not revolve around what I
have planned, no matter what I may think.
We are instructed to pray in
the Our
Father: Thy kingdom come, (the Kingdom of God), Thy will be done (God’s Will).
Isn’t it abundantly clear? It’s
not about me. It is about putting God
first in our lives, above and beyond everyone and everything else. Our first love must be God. Love of family and neighbor should naturally flow
from this.
I do not think Jesus would
fare too well in this society where people are continually offended by what others say.
The news media will often take a statement, sometimes obviously out of
context, and run with it for days.
Imagine the headlines: Jesus Encourages Hatred of Family Members.
Is that what He really meant?
Fr. Ed Namiotka
Pastor
