Jesus offers a series of challenging statements in today’s Gospel. These are words which grab our attention and grate against our sensibilities. First, Jesus asks us to hate our own families. Then he asks us to hate our own lives. Finally, he asks us to renounce all our possessions. These, he explains, are the conditions of discipleship. These are the costs we must take into account as we prepare to follow him.

These things Jesus asks us to renounce are good, so we should not understand his admonitions in today’s Gospel as tyrannical calls for the rejection of loved ones or the condemnation of private property. Family is meant to be a school of holiness, a place in which we can exercise Christ-like love. Certainly, our lives are good, too – God himself created them! Finally, our possessions are necessary to us; they make it possible for us to live, contribute to society, serve each other, and worship God.

It is possible, however, to be so consumed by any of these things that we stop looking at Jesus and orienting our lives toward him. And a life of discipleship is a life that is oriented toward God and striving to be faithful to him. The key, therefore, is not that we are literally asked to give up our family or our possessions, but that we are willing to give these things up for love of God. It is our willingness that makes all the difference.

Ultimately, what Jesus is getting at is what it means to be a disciple. Discipleship requires sacrifice, he is saying. It requires the willingness to give up everything for love of God. And although we are not all asked to give up our possessions or our families, we are all called to make smaller sacrifices each day in order to train ourselves to say “yes” to God. Whether it’s getting up a little early to pray or being patient with our children, we learn, by our smaller sacrifices, what Jesus means when he asks us to hate even our own lives in order to love him.

At this liturgy, we become present to Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. He offers himself to his Father in an act of love that cost him everything. May Jesus grant us a share in his generosity and courage so we might be willing to do whatever it takes to orient our lives to him.

(Fr. Michał Pająk, OMI, Sept. 7, 2025)