Today's Gospel uses some really strong language, and it would be disturbing if we took these words literally. We wonder why God would say that we need to hate our family, our posessions, and even ourselves in order to follow him. The Gospel is about what it takes to be a disciple of Christ. Jesus uses the word "hate" to show how much more we are to love God more than our own family. He knows that we love our family deeply, but He wants us to love Him even more. God is so much higher, and so the disciples are to put God first. The comparison of God to our families is meant to shock us, and to challenge us. We need to give up our attachments to people and things. God is not tangible to us the way our family members are, and so gradually we may start to love God less. We need to remember that it was God who gave us all things and our families. He gave us the love that we enjoy, and He is the source of all of the joy we have in the world. Disciples are people who are deeply in love with God, and they know who it is who gave them everything that they have. Let's remember to thank God for everything that we have received, and the love we have been given in this life. Amen.
