Breaking News: Jesus Encourages Hatred of Family Members

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            

Praying for Our Nation

Dear Parishioners,

I recalled the story of the patriarch Abraham’s pleading and bargaining with God on behalf of the city of Sodom this morning in prayer.  Maybe you remember the passage from Scripture:

Then Abraham drew near [to the LORD] and said: “Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there were fifty righteous people in the city; would you really sweep away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people within it? Far be it from you to do such a thing, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike! Far be it from you! Should not the judge of all the world do what is just?” The LORD replied: If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake. Abraham spoke up again: “See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord, though I am only dust and ashes! What if there are five less than fifty righteous people? Will you destroy the whole city because of those five?” I will not destroy it, he answered, if I find forty-five there. But Abraham persisted, saying, “What if only forty are found there?” He replied: I will refrain from doing it for the sake of the forty. Then he said, “Do not let my Lord be angry if I go on. What if only thirty are found there?” He replied: I will refrain from doing it if I can find thirty there. Abraham went on, “Since I have thus presumed to speak to my Lord, what if there are no more than twenty?” I will not destroy it, he answered, for the sake of the twenty. But he persisted: “Please, do not let my Lord be angry if I speak up this last time. What if ten are found there?” For the sake of the ten, he replied, I will not destroy it.  (Genesis 18: 23-32)

I worry about our nation and our world very much.  Honestly, I am very disheartened with the direction that our presidential race has taken over the past years—in particular with the two proposed candidates for 2016—and I fear that it is only going to get much worse in the future.  I especially think about our young people and the type of world that they are going to inherit.  Yet, I believe that we have many good people who love the Lord and want to do what is right.  I have been requesting that we the people pray fervently and not take a lackadaisical attitude towards what is happening in our nation and in the world around us.  

Will you not join in this effort to pray?

A 54-day Rosary Novena has been proposed prior to our Presidential Election in November beginning on the Solemnity of the Assumption (August 15^th) and ending on October 7^th (the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary).  No matter what your position is on the upcoming election, we all need to pray that the will of the Lord be done on behalf of our nation and our world.  Prayer is absolutely essential and the rosary has been a powerful means of intercession in the history of our Church.                                    

The holy rosary is prayed every morning (7:50 AM) prior to daily Mass (8:30 AM) in our parish.  Why not make an effort to come and pray and then stay for daily Mass?  People make similar resolutions and sacrifices, especially during Lent.  I am asking our parishioners and all who read this to consider joining in the effort by saying a rosary every day (regardless of whether you can come to Church to do it) prior to the presidential election.

Too often people seem to react to tragic situations like war, terrorism, natural disasters, and the like.  A cry may go up to God saying: How could you let this happen?  Can intercessory prayer prevent these things from happening in the first place?  Can prayer move hearts and help in the conversion of the world to Christ?  I certainly hope so.  A petition in the Our Father—deliver us from evil—is worth contemplating.

On our parish web site (www.stjosephsomerspoint.com) and facebook page I will put some links to help people get more information about the Novena for Our Nation, how to pray the rosary and other useful information.

Please take the time to pray fervently.  I believe prayer can work wonders in ways seen and unseen.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor