Mt 10:34—11:1
[Jesus said to the Twelve,] 34“Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. 35For I have come to set a man ‘against his father,/ a daughter against her mother,/ and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;/ 36and one’s enemies will be those of his household.’
37“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
40“Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. 41Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man’s reward. 42And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple—amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”
1When Jesus finished giving these commands to his twelve disciples, he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.
Reflection:
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. I remember when we were in elementary school, we were taught to love God first, our country second, and our families third. The self was not even considered. A good citizen and a Christian must love all three and in the proper order.
Many people nowadays have the ranking in a different order. The self sometimes comes first, self-preservation second, and luxury or comfort third. We have lost our sense of priorities; thus, we live in a troubled and dangerous world.
I am not surprised that Jesus insists on putting God back on top of the list, even over our families. The point is not to love or to pit one against the other. The challenge of Jesus is this: if we have our priorities right, giving and living come naturally for the rest.