by Father Jean-Pierre Ruiz
“Jesus said to his apostles: ‘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.’ ”
Uh oh! That’s how this Sunday’s Gospel begins; then it gets even more intense: “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Double uh oh!
Let’s take a step back to consider what Jesus, and the evangelist, are up to in this exceptionally challenging text.
For the last few Sundays, beginning with the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, we have been invited to reflect on the 10th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, the so-called “missionary discourse,” in which Jesus prepared the apostles for the mission on which he was about to send them, commissioning them to proclaim the advent of the kingdom of heaven.
Each year of the three-year Sunday cycle, the Lectionary focuses on one of the so-called Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), so-called because of their extensive similarities.
Most biblical scholars conclude that Mark’s Gospel provided the narrative “backbone” on which Matthew and Luke relied in composing their own Gospels. We also recognize that Matthew and Luke share content not found in Mark, consisting mainly of the teachings of Jesus.
For example, we find versions of the Beatitudes in both Matthew and Luke, but not in Mark. This points to a so-called “sayings source” used by Matthew and Luke, unfortunately no longer extant, but probably somewhat akin to the so-called “Gospel of Thomas,” an early Christian document composed of sayings of Jesus without a narrative framework. Matthew arranged this material of sayings into several extensive sermons, including the Sermon on the Mount and the Missionary Discourse. Luke organized this material somewhat differently. As they faithfully handed on their testimony about Jesus, each evangelist kept in mind the needs and concerns of the believing community who were the first recipients of their Gospels.
While Luke’s version of the sending of the Twelve (in chapter 9) does not include the saying of Jesus we heard at the beginning of Sunday’s Gospel, when we find it in Luke 14:26, it is even more startling: “If any one comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.”
Hating?!? Dear Jesus, now that’s extreme! Matthew’s version of this saying turns down the intensity a notch, but the point is the same: The decision for discipleship must come first, and everything else follows. No exceptions! Addressing one would-be disciple, Jesus said, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Let me go first and bury my father.” Jesus answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:59-60, and see Matthew 8:21-22).
In Matthew’s time, and in Luke’s time, becoming a follower of Jesus was a radically countercultural decision. So it is in our own time.
The words of Jesus challenge just as often as they console, and he does not allow us to harbor any illusions about what following him demands of us.
Let faithful discipleship always be our first priority!
Father Jean-Pierre Ruiz is a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn, a professor of theology at St. John’s University, and the vice president of the Society of Biblical Literature.