In today’s Gospel from Luke 14:25-33 Jesus is using hyperbole to express to the crowds how great is the cost of being a disciple.  “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother…he cannot be my disciple.” (LK 14:26)  This is difficult to understand.  Jesus, who gave his life for us out of love is telling us we must hate our parents and family in order to follow him.  This is the extreme nature hyperbole takes when it is used to make a point.  He continues later in the Gospel, “anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” (LK 14:33)

   Clearly we understand that Jesus is not truly saying we must hate our father and mother while in other Scripture (MT 15:3-6) Jesus speaks to the contrary.  Additionally, Jesus does not expect us to walk naked through the streets after we have “renounced all…possessions”.  However, Jesus is teaching us that our dedication to God must be so great that it would always take priority over our love for our families and ourselves.  In some cases, this may result in division in our families as our commitment to being Catholic may be at odds with some of our family members.  Through our faith, we must trust that in our being true disciples, through prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit, our families may too be saved through their own conversion.  What we must not allow is for our faith to wane in the face of adversity with family.

   We must remain steadfast in our faith.  We must continue to pray fervently for those who are lost.  Our dedication to and trust in God must be so great that we can withstand the barrage of attacks and persecution that we will face in the world today.