And there went
great multitudes with him. And turning, he said to them:
If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife,
and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea and his own life also, he
cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not carry his cross and come
after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you having a mind to
build a tower, doth not first sit down, and reckon the charges that are
necessary, whether he have wherewithal to finish it: Lest, after he
hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that see it
begin to mock him, Saying: This man began to build, and was not able to
finish.
Or what king, about to go to make war against another king, doth not
first sit down, and think whether he be able, with ten thousand, to
meet him that, with twenty thousand, cometh against him? Or else,
whilst the other is yet afar off, sending an embassy, he desireth
conditions of peace.
So likewise every one of you that doth not renounce all that he
possesseth, cannot be my disciple. Salt is good. But if the salt shall
lose its savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? It is neither
profitable for the land nor for the dunghill, but shall be cast out. He
that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Commentary
Be aware that
the Douay footnotes explains the use of "hate" here as follows:
The law of
Christ does not allow us to hate even our enemies, much less our
parents: but the meaning of the text is, that we must be in that
disposition of soul, as to be willing to renounce, and part with every
thing, how near or dear soever it may be to us, that would keep us from
following Christ.
In other words,
and as should be obvious, we are not to literally "hate" our parents,
spouses, and children; we are, though, to order our dealings with them
such that our love for them is true love -- i.e., love rooted in Truth,
which is to say, rooted in Christ first.
