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Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed
them, “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.” Luke 14:25–26
Why would Jesus exhort the “great crowds” to hate their families?
In fact, Jesus went even further than that. He said they must also
hate their own lives. If they do not, then they cannot be His
disciples. One thing that this shocking teaching did was to shake
people out of their lukewarm faith. Sometimes we think of Jesus
only as a kind and gentle soul Who always brightens people’s days.
We see images painted of the smiling Jesus Who always made people
feel welcomed and loved. And though these images have truth, it is
also true that one way He brightened their days was by challenging
them to the core of their being to convert. And that is what Jesus
does today in our Gospel.
To hate your father, mother, children, siblings and even your very
self is obviously not a reference to the sin of hate that flows
from anger. In this case, the word “hate” refers to the best way to
love others and to love even your own self. To begin, let's look at
the conclusion. Jesus said that this form of hate is a requirement
of being His disciple. This is the key. Unless we are first and
foremost a disciple of Christ, we cannot love others and we will
not even love ourselves in the proper way. “Hate” in this context
refers to selfish attachments. This means that people and things
can easily get in the way of our love of God. When they do, we must
see them as an obstacle to both the love of God, as well as to the
authentic love of others and even ourselves. For example, if a
family member were to demand in some way that you love them more
than you love God, then this must be rejected with passion. This
could be referred to as holy hatred of the temptation, not the
person. Say a spouse criticizes you for attending Mass and tries to
stop you from doing so. If you listen to them, then you are placing
them before God. Or say someone hurts you and you choose to forgive
them, only to have a family member challenge you and try to stir up
anger in you toward that person. If you listen to them, then you
are not listening to God. In these cases, we must “hate” in the
sense that we reject the temptation.
What about yourself? How do you hate yourself? This is a reference
to the many ways that our disordered appetites are drawn to sin. If
we indulge in the disordered desires, or even worse, if we treat
those disordered desires as normal and good for us, then we have
chosen the disordered desire over God. In that case, we must learn
to hate and reject the selfish and disordered desire, choosing God
and His will alone.
When we are able to choose the love of God first and foremost in
our lives, rejecting the temptations that come through others and
even the temptations within our disordered desires, then, and only
then, are we in a position to love others and ourselves, in the
right way. Jesus obviously wants us to love others and ourselves.
But this is only possible when our love is pure and holy and flows
from the love of God. Any other form of “love” is not love at all.
It is a selfish attachment that hinders our true mission as lovers
of God and instruments of that love to others.
Reflect, today, upon the passion that you must have to reject all
forms of sin. This includes sin that tempts you through the
mediation of your family and friends. It also includes every form
of temptation that arises within you on account of your disordered
human nature. This holy hatred is an act of love in that it seeks
to eliminate everything that keeps you from true love. Choose,
today, to be a faithful disciple of Jesus and commit yourself to
reject all that seeks to interfere with this choice. Doing so will
not only increase your love for God, it will also increase your
love for others, and even your love for your own soul.
My passionate Lord, You exhorted the crowds to reject every form
of temptation that interfered with their love of You. Please fill
my soul with a holy hatred for sin and all temptation so that I can
reject them with passion. May I love You above all things and from
that love, love others and even my own soul with Your Sacred Heart.
Jesus, I trust in You.
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