A note from Pastor regarding his sermon:

It can sometimes be hard to hear Christ’s words to us in this week’s Gospel reading: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters… he cannot be my disciple.” After all, when the secular world looks at the Church and attempts to identify the benefits of belonging to the faith – for individuals as well as the community at large – it often concludes that Christians are peaceful… they get along with each other and have loving, well-ordered families. What could it mean for Christ to warn His would-be disciples that they must hate their families, instead?

We know that there are several passages in Scripture that warn us that Jesus has come to bring division rather than peace, and that God expects us to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. And we know that all of the good things in our lives are blessings, given to us by God Himself. This week, we are reminded that we should view all things in our lives through the lens of Him who created everything, who renews the world through the sacrifice of His Son, and who has promised us everlasting life in paradise. We may love our neighbors and our families – and we should – but we should love them through God who demonstrates the perfect love and the joy for which He has made us!