Bible
Study: Romans 13, 8 to 10. And Luke 14, 25 to 33.
When we
take both our first reading our Gospel passage this morning at face value, we
would immediately discover an apparent contradiction. While St. Paul is saying
that “we should owe no one anything except to love one another”, Jesus Christ
says: “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.” So, the question is: “Are we called to love or to hate?” Are we to
listen to Paul or to Jesus?
You see,
passages like this actually bring out the danger of interpreting scriptures at
face value. This is why in the Catholic Church, we are not keen about picking
out verses as though each verse of the Bible stands out on its own. We always
take full length passages, we do not preach asking people to open so and so
verse, then turn to another passage and read so and so verse. I mean, if you
simply take the words of Jesus out of context, you might never understands what
he means by HATING father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters
and even one’s own life. One might as well go on a shooting spree and take down
his own father and mother, his brothers and sisters and then his own life in
the name of obeying what he saw in the Bible.
Now,
before we digress too much, let us find out what Jesus really meant by having
to hate, the answer lies in the verses that immediately follow: He says “Whoever
does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Which of
you here wishing to build a tower does not first calculate the cost before he
begins or who would go into battle without first checking if he has enough troops
to succeed?” In other words, discipleship comes at a cost and before saying ‘Yes’
to Jesus, we must first be sure that we are prepared to say ‘No’ to the world. If
you know that you are a person who is too attached to father or mother, brother
or sister and you know that these persons can lead you away from Jesus, then
know that your being a Christian may result in having to break that attachment.
As such, going separate ways from your own family members as a result of your
Christian faith becomes a necessary cross that you bear.
On this
note, we can see that there is no contradiction between what St. Paul is saying
and what Jesus is saying. We are not to borrow anything from anyone so that we
do not get attached or fall into sin as a result. Rather, the only thing we owe
to people is LOVE. And once we can give love, then we have fulfilled all the
demands of the commandments of God. Yes, we are to show love to everyone
without getting attached to any particular person, not even if that person is
our father or mother or brother or sister.
How is
that possible you wonder? Yes, this is the type of love that give no room for
sin and it is only this love that you can give to everyone. The other type of
love which we are used to is the type that comes with its baggage of sinfulness,
it is exclusive, selective and physical. You can love a person without having
to prove it by kissing or fondling. Yes, you can love a person without giving
in to sin in the name of love and if it so happens that that person begins to
demand for sin, then cutting off from the person which he or she would
interpret as hatred begins an act of love on your part. Now, you understand why
Jesus says we must hate.
Love is
not about liking how a person looks or being attracted to one’s physical
structure, love is about desiring that a person goes to heaven, it is caring
for an invisible part of the person which is the soul. Only this type of love
is possible to be shared with everyone.
We remember
St. Charles Borromeo today because he was an example of one who loved people.
As a Bishop, Charles allotted most of his income to charity, forbade himself
all luxury and imposed severe penances upon himself. He sacrificed wealth, high
honours, esteem and influence to become poor. During the plague and famine of
1576, he tried to feed 60,000 to 70,000 people daily. To do this he borrowed
large sums of money that required years to repay. Whereas the civil authorities
fled at the height of the plague, he stayed in the city, where he ministered to
the sick and the dying, helping those in want. Work and the heavy burdens of
his high office began to affect his health. He died at the age of 46.
St.
Charles made his own the words of Christ: "...I was hungry and you gave me
food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited
me" (Matthew 25:35-36). Charles saw Christ in his neighbour and knew that
charity done for the least of his flock was charity done for Christ.
Let us
Pray:
Lord
Jesus, open my heart to truly understand the meaning of love that my very life
would witness to the love you require of me. Amen.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you.
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