Jesus has a demanding but strange message for us in the opening verse. Clearly, Jesus’ call to the crowds to hate father, mother, wife, children, brothers and sisters, is not to be taken literally. Jesus makes use of a Semitic idiom of expressing preference, whereby if someone prefers one thing or one person over another, they are said to love the one and hate the other. Jesus told us to love our enemies, to pray for those who persecute us and to bless those who curse us. Could the same Jesus speak against his own words? Absolutely not. Jesus is not calling on his disciples to hate their families, but to love him more than they love even their families. Hate in this context means we must be ready and willing to distance ourselves from that which gets in the way of our relationship with God. Reflect today upon what holds you back from giving yourself totally to the Lord.
✍️ CB