Lectionary Texts of the Week
Sunday, September 7, 2025
Proper 18 (23)—Season after Pentecost, Year C
Overview
A misunderstanding of the word “hate” here has caused much confusion. A Hebraicism, it means the opposite of “prefer.” Jesus is not prohibiting love of family or holding possessions (v. 33) but demanding that he be put first in people’s lives. The disciple must be ready to renounce family, wealth, and anything if it comes between him and Jesus.
The idea may seem afar off to many modern Christians, but the reality is coming on quickly. It seems likely that there will be a very near future in the West which the Christian’s adherence to the moral vision of the New Testament will disqualify them for employment and social status and put them at variance with those closest to them, and whom they depend on (indeed, in many places this regime has already arrived). In these cases, Christians must soberly take account of the cost of the Way to which they have been called, not so that they may decide whether it is worth it, but so that they may steel themselves for the journey.
This is why Jesus warns against the sin of apostasy: a Christian who sets out and then stalls halfway presents a unique conundrum: if one has let go of the lifeline, then what else is there to grab hold of? We see many jaded, lapsed, former Christians today whose very history in the church inoculates them to taking hold again of grace. Jesus’ command is stark here, but believers who pass these tests may rejoice in the confirmation that they have proven themselves true disciples.
