Wis 9:13-18/ Psa 90:3-6,12-14,17/Phlm 9-10,12-17/Luke 14:25-33.
The Gospel Reading today, opens with information about the great crowds that were following Jesus.
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We are not told why they decided to follow him but we believe that in his omniscience, Jesus could read the motivation of all who were following him.
The admonition that Jesus gave in the Gospel Reading is indicative of what could have made some people to follow him.
This could be summed up in the feeling that some of the people were following him without really thinking of the implications of discipleship.
Jesus started his admonition by telling the people about the first condition for discipleship.
He may have been wondering if all who were following him as he journeyed toward Jerusalem were ready to follow him to the fate he has marked out for himself.
He already announced this fate when some Pharisees came to inform him about the plot of Herod to kill him in Luke 13:31-35.
Jesus stated that it was impossible for a prophet to be killed outside Jerusalem.
By this,he was predicting his own death there on arrival in the city.
The crowds following him may not have understood the ultimate purpose of the ascent to Jerusalem so Jesus used the occasion to instruct them on true discipleship.
It may be surprising and shocking to note that Jesus used a language of hate in the admonition.
Jesus said: “If any man comes to me without hating his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, he cannot be my disciple”.
The language of hate is typical of Semitic overemphasis or overstatement.
English literature designates this as hyperbole.
We have examples in the Old Testament like Prov 13:24: “Those who spare the rod hate their children, but those who love them are diligent to discipline them”.
The use of the Semitic idiom of hate does not really mean hatred as we understand it in other cultures.
It was only a way of saying “to love less than”, so in effect, Jesus was saying to his audience that “If any man comes to me without loving his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too less than me, he cannot be my disciple”.
Jesus wants to emphasize that where there is hate, there are no ties of bond that can limit the freedom of our actions.
The act of hate is an emotional reaction so we do not use our head or brain but we react from our instinct without much deliberation.
This explains the reactions of fanatics who use hate language to accomplish their horrendous acts.
Jesus in his admonition did not call on his followers to be fanatics or to perform acts that are harmful to others.
Jesus called on his disciples to follow in his steps by carrying the cross.
The cross that Jesus carried did not harm any person other than himself.
He endured the weight of the cross with all its pain.
He decided to bear the cross in order to reconcile humanity to God the Father.
What Jesus asks of those who love him is to carry their own cross and follow him.
Doing so would demand that at times we act contrary to what those close to us – father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters – may want of us.
We would only be able to carry our cross if we do not heed their call to love them more than Jesus.
The First Reading helps us appreciate the wisdom of God.
It is far beyond human comprehension and we can easily misunderstand his ways.
Those who put their trust in God are able to follow his promptings, which they may not always understand.
They know that following the way of the Lord would lead them to salvation so they do not waver from this path.
At times, this way may look foolish in the sight of human persons.
An example of such consideration is what we read in the Second Reading.
Paul convinced Onesimus to return to his master Philemon.
From the human perspective, once Onesimus gained his freedom, he should not have had any desire to return to Philemon.
Paul asked him to return so that he may be a brother to Philemon.
He was able to do so because he loved Jesus more than Philemon, his slave master whom he now sees as a brother in Christ.
Only someone who is tied to Christ can forget the pain of slavery to embrace his slave master as a brother.
The welcoming gesture that Paul asks of Philemon is to show Onesimus that he, Philemon, truly believes in Jesus who has made all of us brothers and sisters.
May God help us eschew hatred in our lives and seek to love all others less than Jesus. Amen.
