Today’s gospel is one that gets a reaction. For some, it’s a justification to say God is unreasonable. For others, it’s a reason to look more deeply into our relationships with God, our families, and our friends.
Yesterday, we heard that we are to love God with all our heart, being, strength, and mind … and our neighbor as ourselves. Right there, we see why the argument that God is calling us to love Him more than mother, father, son, or daughter is unreasonable and doesn’t stand up. For if God includes loving neighbor as ourselves connected with loving Him, then clearly, He wants us to love our family members too.
What God is getting at is the need to have the right understanding of relationships. At times, we drift or are pulled from God by our family members or friends, or even societal influences.
For example, you might have a family member who doesn’t go to Sunday Mass and schedules a family gathering when you do. How do you handle it? How do you give proper thanks to God, receive Holy Communion, and still let your family know how much they matter to you?
Sometimes, we can go to an earlier or later Mass time, other times it means showing up late for the family gathering. In either case, by our actions we show God and our loved ones that we place God, our Creator and Redeemer first.
We do this first because it’s right but also because it allows us to bring the love of God to family, friends, and neighbors, sometimes helping them to grow in their faith.
We can also find ourselves involved with family dynamics that go against God’s teaching. Everything from adult children living together before marriage to family involved in pagan belief and lifestyles.
Today’s gospel causes us to reflect on how we respond to those types of situations and many more. God wants us to love our family members but not to compromise our relationship with Him and His teachings and way of life.
The reality is that Jesus wants all of us, every family member, friend, and neighbor to find true happiness in this life that leads to Heaven.
But, it’s a choice every day in who we choose to follow. It’s not always easy and certainly takes the grace of God, prayer, and our best intentions. But what is truly loving … is for us to place God first so that we might better be able to love: mother, father, son, or daughter.
My brothers and sisters, let us pray for the grace of God to help us to love God with everything we have … so that we can bring His love to our families. May our example draw them to the One who brings us to life that matters because of how we help one another along the way, to Heaven in His Name.
May God bless you and your families this holy day!
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