Wednesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
The Gospel today is one of those passages that can seem confusing or even problematic if taken literally without due consideration for context and translation. In short, Jesus is not preaching actual hatred for our family members. This would be a blatant contradiction of other instances when Jesus instructs us to love these same individuals.
At the same time, it is equally important not to soften the urgency of the Lord’s message in this passage. Jesus is quite seriously doubling down on the premise that there is nothing that can or should take priority or precedence over relationship with God, period. If we have attachments to things that we are unwilling to part even for the sake of relationship with God, that’s a problem.
At the end of the day, the question is a simple one: what are we living for? What gets us out of bed in the morning? What motivates us? What are our lives oriented around? Is it the love of God? Is it our desire for an ever-deeper and fuller relationship with Him? Or is it something else? Are we really seeking the Lord with our whole heart, mind, and soul? Or do we put more stock and take greater pleasure in other things?