In
today’s Gospel Jesus says words that were quite shocking to his hearers and to
us too. “If anyone comes to me without hating father, mother, wife, children,
brothers, sisters, yes, and his own life, that person cannot be my disciple.” (Lk 14:26). What are we to make of
such an extraordinary statement? Don’t we have an incomprehensible
contradiction here? Is this the same Jesus who tells us to love our enemies,
now tells us to hate those most important to us?
It is
obvious from the overall context of Luke’s gospel that Jesus could not mean for
us to literally hate our parents and brothers and sisters, and those close to
us. Nor does he mean for us to hate our own lives. No, “hate” here means
detachment. It’s not an emotional response, he calls for undivided loyalty to
himself above family loyalties. We are called to have love and compassion for
every single person, no matter who they are or what their relationship may be
to us. We are bound to love our family members – not only them but those of our
wider family. In not recognizing those other ‘family members’ we fail in being
disciples of Jesus.
On the
other side, there are those who will do anything for others, but nothing for
their own family. For different reasons, some people totally alienate
themselves from their family and will have nothing to do with them. Such
behavior is as much against the Gospel as making one’s family the beginning and
end of all living. That is certainly a kind of hate that Jesus is not
promoting.
What does
Jesus mean by “hating our own lives”? Are we supposed to consider our lives as
worthless, having no meaning? People who feel this way end up taking their own
life because it becomes a source of unbearable pain and suffering. I find it
interesting that in a society such as ours, which has so much to offer, many
people find themselves feeling desperately lonely, empty, and hopeless.
Self-hatred is transferred to hatred of others and expressed in fear,
intolerance, anger, and violence. The increase of mass shootings in this
country is an unfortunate illustration of this.
In the
next saying, discipleship is defined by following Jesus and “carrying the
cross.” “Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple”
(Lk 14:27). This indicates that giving-up self-interest and competing loyalties
are central to discipleship. The following of Jesus is radical. There is no
compromise.
The two
brief parables that follow illustrate how to count the cost. The first presents
a landowner building a tower on his property. (14:28-30). If the landowner has
not estimated how much the tower will cost, and realizes that he doesn’t have
the money, it’s possible that the project will remain unfinished. He then
suffers humiliation and ridicule from all who see his unfinished structure.
The
second story is about a king about to go into battle, who assesses the number
of his troops and realizes that his enemy has twice as many troops. The wise
thing to do would be to negotiate with the enemy before they meet in battle.
This parable makes the same point as the previous one. Don’t start unless you
have counted the cost and considered the likelihood of success or failure. The
scripture scholar, Wilfrid J. Harrington, commenting on this passage
writes, “The twin parables drive home the lesson that discipleship does involve
commitment; it cannot be undertaken thoughtlessly. The following of Christ is
at all times a serious business. He who comes to Christ must come with his eyes
wide open.” (The Gospel According to St. Luke, a Commentary.)
The passage
ends with Jesus saying, “None of you can become my disciple if you do not give
up all your possessions” (Lk 14:33). Is he asking us to be homeless and
dependent on others for all our needs? What he is saying is that our lives
cannot be determined or manipulated by inordinate attachment to material things.
Renunciation here means not only material possessions, but also possessions of
the heart. The practice of detachment, of letting go, even of health and life
itself, is what will bring us freedom to be a disciple of Jesus. Anything that
lessens that freedom is to be “hated.”
I would
like to close by continuing the quote from The Imitation of Christ that
I began with.
O how powerful is the pure love of Jesus, free from all self-interest and self-love. They who love Jesus for His own sake, and not for the sake of comfort of themselves, bless Him in every trial and anguish of heart, no less than in the greatest joy. And were he never willing to bestow comfort on them, they would still always praise Him and give Him thanks.
Homily by Father Emmanuel.
