It is a Hard Teaching

Today’s Gospel is another one that is more than a little difficult to hear. Jesus says you are not worthy of me unless you hate your father, mother, brothers, and sister.  

The first thing to understand is that the word hate in this Gospel passage does not mean despise or extreme dislike. It means to choose your preference. If you do not prefer me to your father, mother, brother, and sister, you are not worthy of me.  

In other words, what Jesus is saying is following Him is not a part-time or wishy-washy thing. We cannot sometimes be faithful and other times, when it is inconvenient, be unconcerned about the Gospel. We cannot give the Gospel of Jesus second place if we are going to live as disciples of the Lord.

That is a challenge, at least for me. I want always to be that faithful and zealous about the Gospel. But, regretfully, I am not.

The other day I remained silent when I was with someone going on about the righteousness of the Jan 6 Insurrection at the Capitol. I would not have been quiet if I had been faithful to my discipleship. The Gospel leaves no room for violence.

Sometimes I walk away from people who approach me, primarily when they are exhibiting signs of mental illness. I am simply afraid of them. I know that is not a Gospel response. It is no different from those who feared the lepers at the time of Jesus. Jesus calls us to compassion. He calls us to be better than that.

Living the Gospel is hard. It is hard to be the voice of the Gospel in the face of bigotry and anger. It is sobering to face our own limitations, prejudices, and judgments. 

In this Gospel, Jesus tells his followers they cannot split their loyalty. They can’t sit on the fence or walk in the middle of the road. They either choose Him and His teaching, or they don’t. Jesus’ teachings are unlike buying a la carte from a cafeteria menu. I can’t just accept the pieces I like and are convenient and leave the rest.

Instead, Jesus calls us to forsake everything else and make Him most important. Yet, we will ruffle feathers when we behave like people of the Gospel. People will vehemently disagree with our positions. We are told in no uncertain terms by Jesus that if we do not stand with Him and for Him, we are not worthy to be His disciple.

It is a hard teaching. When Jesus preached this challenging message, he was trying to make a point. He was being followed by a great crowd, and they wanted His miracles and His healings. Jesus told them it isn’t all about the magic. Living this way is hard. If you are in it and following me only to see a miracle, then get out of the way; you are not worthy of being my disciple. He was trying to weed out the ones who saw him as the “magic man” from those genuinely looking for the heart of God.

In this same passage, Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me.” That is a blessed assurance.  In Jesus’ journey with His cross to Calvary, He fell three times. He was ministered to by Veronica. Simon also helped Him carry His cross when it was too heavy to bear alone.

We all sometimes fail when we carry the cross of discipleship. Sometimes we shy away from speaking up and defending the Gospel. In those times, it is essential to remember that Jesus needed the help and support of others when He was carrying His cross.  

So, rather than beating ourselves up when we don’t hit the mark of living the Gospel, we need to look around for our helpers. We need to look for our Simon and our Veronica. We must remember that Jesus fell when carrying His cross, so it is okay if we sometimes fall too. But, like Jesus, we need to get up and continue our faith journey. 

Perhaps rather than being a reprimand, this Gospel is a reminder. We all need to cut ourselves slack when we struggle to live the Gospel. If we live preferring Jesus above all else and choosing Him to be first in our life, we are worthy to be called a Disciple.

In God’s Unending Love,

Gwen