Answered by Viktor Belousov, 12/26/2007
Peace to you, Vladimir!
Let's explore this issue together and compare:
Matthew:
1 And he called his twelve disciples, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out and to heal every disease and every disease. 2 And the names of the twelve apostles are these: first Simon, called Peter, and Andrew his brother, James Zebedee and John his brother, 3 Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the publican, James Alphaeus and Levbeus, called Thaddeus, 4 Simon the Canaanite and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him. 5 These twelve Jesus sent, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, neither enter into the city of the Samaritans;...
21 Brother will betray brother to death, and father his son; and children will rise up against their parents and kill them; 22 And you will be hated by all because of My name; he who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one city, flee to another. For truly I say to you, before you have gone around the cities of Israel, the Son of Man comes. 24 A disciple is not above the teacher, and a servant is not above his master: 25 It is enough for the student that he should be as his teacher, and for the servant that he should be as his master. If the master of the house was called Beelzebub, how much more of his household? 26 So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing secret that will not be known. 27 What I say to you in the dark, speak in the light; and whatever you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. 28 And do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but fear Him more who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. 29 Are not two small birds sold for an assar? And not one of them will fall to the ground without the [will] of your Father; 30 And the hairs of your head are all numbered; 31 Do not be afraid: you are better than many small birds. 32 Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, him will I also confess before My Father who is in heaven; 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father who is in heaven. 34 Do not think that I came to bring peace to earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword, 35 for I came to divide a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a man's enemies are his own household. 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; 38 And whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who saves his life will lose it; but he who loses his life for My sake will save it.
Luke:
15 Hearing this, one of those reclining with Him said to Him: Blessed is he who eats bread in the Kingdom of God! 16 And he said to him, “A certain man made a great supper and invited many, 17 and when the time for supper came, he sent his servant to say to those invited: Go, for everything is already ready.” 18 And they all began, as if by agreement, to apologize. The first one said to him: I bought land and I need to go and look at it; please forgive me. 19 Another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen and am going to test them; please forgive me. 20 The third said, “I am married, and therefore I cannot come.” 21 And the servant returned and reported this to his master. Then, angry, the owner of the house said to his servant: go quickly through the streets and alleys of the city and bring here the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind. 22 And the servant said: Master! done as you ordered, and there is still room. 23 The master said to the servant, “Go out along the roads and hedges and compel them to come, so that my house may be filled.” 24 For I tell you that none of those who are called will taste my supper, for many are called, but few are chosen. 25 Many people went with Him; and He turned and said to them: 26 If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and indeed his own life, he cannot be My disciple;
There are significant differences in these passages:
1) This different words Christ and different situations in which He spoke these words.
2) Matthew’s words are addressed to selected disciples who are sent to independently preach the Gospel. In Luke these are words to a crowd of people who have gathered to listen to the Teacher and a choice is made - to become disciples or not.
3) The essence of our passage (about the attitude towards parents and relatives) in Matthew comes down more to the conflict during preaching, because the families of the disciples do not understand and do not share the teachings of Jesus (with rare exceptions). You probably remember when even Jesus’ mother and brothers came to Jesus in bewilderment from His sermon, they did not sit and listen with the disciples, but came much later (at the end) with a slightly different task, which explains the words of Christ ().
The essence of the passage in Luke is somewhat different - election for Kingdom of Heaven( , 24) and the criteria for this election. Apprenticeship for those who have not yet become apprentices. There is no “cheapness” here - follow Me and you will feel very good. Jesus talks about the cost of discipleship. Understanding the responsibility and seriousness of choice. For this reason, the words are somewhat more “hard”, although the phrase is similar.
I hope the difference is now clearer.
Blessings,
Victor
Read more on the topic “Interpretation of Scripture”:
St. Basil the Great
Love those close to you no more than the Lord. For it is said: “Whoever loves his father or mother more than Me is worthy of Me.”. What does the Lord's commandment mean? Said: “Unless someone takes up his cross and follows Me, he cannot be My disciple.”(cf. Luke 14:27). If you died with Christ for your relatives according to the flesh, then why do you want to live with them again? And if you again build for your relatives what you ruined for Christ, then you make yourself a criminal. Therefore, do not leave your place for your relatives, for by leaving a place, you may be leaving your morals.
Letters.
St. John Chrysostom
Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me
Since I came to bestow great benefits, I demand great obedience and diligence. Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me(Matt. 10:38) . Do you see the dignity of the Teacher? Do you see how He, commanding us to leave everything behind and to prefer love for Him to everything else, shows by this that He is the only begotten Son of the Father? And what can we say, He said, about friends and relatives? Even if you prefer your soul to love for Me, you are still far from being My disciple.
What? Isn't this contrary to ancient law? No, on the contrary, I quite agree with him. And there God commands not only to hate idolaters, but also to stone them; and in Deuteronomy, praising such zealots, he says: Who says about his father and his mother: I do not look at them, and does not recognize his brothers, and does not know his sons; for they [the Levites] keep Your words(Deut. 33:9) . If Paul commands many things about parents, and commands us to obey them in everything, do not be surprised. He orders us to obey them only in that which is not contrary to piety.
It is a holy thing to give them all other respects. When they demand something more appropriate, one should not obey them. That is why the Evangelist Luke says: If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and indeed his own life, he cannot be My disciple.(Luke 14:26) The command is not just to hate, because this is completely illegal; but if one of them wants you to love him more than Me, then hate him for it. Such love destroys both the beloved and the lover.
He said this in order to make both children more courageous and parents, who would begin to hinder piety, more compliant. Indeed, the parents, seeing that Christ has the power and strength to tear away even their children from them, had to give up their demands as impossible. That is why, having passed the parents, He turns to the children, teaching them not to use useless efforts. Then, so that they do not become annoyed or grieve at this, look to what extent the speech extends. Having said: Who... does not hate his father and mother, added: and your very life(Luke 14:26) And what, he says, do you think about your parents, brothers, sisters and wife?
For everyone there is nothing closer than his soul; but if you don’t hate her too, then you will act completely differently from someone who loves you. Moreover, he commanded not only to hate the soul, but even to be subjected to war and battles, and not to be afraid of death and bloodshed. And whoever does not bear his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple(Luke 14:27) . He didn’t just say that one should be ready to die; but ready to die violently, and not only violently, but also blasphemously.
Conversations on the Gospel of Matthew.
St. Cyril of Jerusalem
Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me
The Lord didn't just say: “Whoever loves father or mother is not worthy of Me” so that you, through your foolishness, do not understand what was said correctly in the wrong sense, but add: "more than Mena". Then we must follow this commandment when the earthly fathers philosophize contrary to the Heavenly Father, and when they do not in the least hinder us in the work of piety, but we, on the contrary, are carried away by debauchery and forgetting their benefits shown to us, despise them, then in this case it falls on us the following saying: “Whoever curses his father or mother, let him die”(Matt. 15:4).
The teachings are public. Lesson 7.
St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov)
Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me
“Whoever prefers the will of his parents or any relatives in the flesh to My will, who prefers their way of thinking and their thinking to My teaching, who prefers pleasing them to pleasing Me, he is unworthy of Me.”
Ascetic sermon.
Right John of Kronstadt
Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me
If those who love their own blood more than God are unworthy of the Lord, with a pure and holy love inspired by nature itself, then how unworthy of Him are those who passionately attach their hearts to unrelated persons, who love not out of pure motives!
Diary. Volume I. 1856.
Blazh. Augustine
Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me
Let the father say: “Love me.” Let the mother say: “Love me.” To these words I will answer: “Be silent.” But isn't what they're asking fair? And shouldn't I give them back what I received? The father says: “I gave birth to you.” The mother says: “I gave birth to you.” The father says: “I taught you.” The mother says: “I fed you.” Perhaps their words are fair when they say: “The power moves in his wings, but do not fly away as a debtor, return what we previously delivered [to you].” Let us answer the father and mother who rightly say: “Love us,” let us answer: “I love you in Christ, but not instead of Christ. Be with me in Him, but I will not be with you without Him.” “But we don’t need Christ,” they say. “But I need Christ more than you. [Will] I take care of my parents and forget the Creator?”
Sermons.
Blazh. Hieronymus of Stridonsky
Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me
The one who said before: I did not come to send peace on earth, but a sword, and to restore people(Matthew 10:34) against father and mother and mother-in-law, so that no one puts [their] piety (pietatem) above faith (religionis), added below: Who loves father or mother more than Me. And in the book of Song of Songs we read: Make love for Me a rule(ordinate) (Song 2:4) . This rule or order is necessary in every movement of the soul. After God, love your father, love your mother, love your children (filios). And if the need arises for love for parents and children to be compared with love for God, and if a person cannot preserve both love together, then let there be love (pietas) in relation to God, and in relation to one’s own - hatred (odium). So, He did not forbid loving one’s father or mother, but added significantly: Who loves father or mother more than Me?.
Blazh. Theophylact of Bulgaria
He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me
You see that it is only necessary to hate parents and children if they want to be loved more than Christ. But what am I saying about the father and children? Hear more.
Interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew.
Evfimy Zigaben
He who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me: and he who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me
And here I mentioned only one of the ascending and descending ones, as being closer. Who, he says, loves them more than Me; since loving them if they are pious is a good deed; but it is always an evil thing to love them more than God.
Interpretation of the Gospel of Matthew.
Lopukhin A.P.
Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me
(Luke 14:26) Luke expresses the same idea, but much stronger. Instead of: “who loves more”- if anyone “He shall not hate his father, and mother, and wife, and children” and so on. The expressions of both evangelists were explained in the sense that it speaks of greater love for the Savior in general, and when circumstances require it; for example, when immediate relatives do not agree with His commandments, when love for them would require breaking these commandments. Or: love for Christ should be distinguished by such strength that love for father, mother and others should seem like hostility in comparison with love for Christ. It should be noted that these words are reminiscent of Deut. 33:9 where Levi “He speaks about his father and mother: I don’t look at them, and he doesn’t recognize his brothers, and he doesn’t know his sons; For they, the Levites, keep Your words and keep Your covenant; and Ex. 32:26-29, which talks about the beating of the Israelites after the construction of the golden calf, when each killed his brother, friend, and neighbor. Thus, in Old Testament there is no shortage of examples when fulfilling the commandments of the Lord required hatred and even murder of loved ones. But one cannot, of course, think that Christ instills with His words any kind of hatred towards loved ones, and that this commandment of His is distinguished by any kind of callousness. There are many cases in life when love, for example, for friends exceeds love for closest relatives. The Savior's words point to the divine and sublime self-consciousness of the Son of Man; and no one, by sound reasoning, can say that He demanded here anything beyond human strength, immoral or illegal.
Explanatory Bible.
Trinity leaves
Art. 37-42 Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. He who saves his soul will lose it; but he who loses his life for My sake will save it. Whoever receives you receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; whoever receives the prophet, in the name of the prophet, will receive the reward of the prophet; and whoever receives the righteous, in the name of the righteous, will receive the reward of the righteous. And whoever gives one of these little ones to drink only the cup cold water, in the name of the disciple, truly I tell you, he will not lose his reward
“If God,” says Metropolitan Philaret of Moscow, “by the law of marital love commands a person to leave his father and mother, then can the Divine Bridegroom of our souls, Christ the Savior, offer lesser demands to those who desire spiritual betrothal to Him?” That is why He speaks with such power and authority to His apostles, and through them to all believers: Who loves father his or mother theirs, who gave you temporary life, more than me your Redeemer, who by His Blood gives you eternal life, not worthy of Me such a one is not worthy to be called My disciple. Honor and love your parents, take care of them in old age, obey them, but if they force you to break My commandments, do not obey them. and who loves son or daughter more than Me, so for their sake I am ready to forget My commandments, such not worthy of me! Only God or the God-man could say this. Such a demand cannot be made by an ordinary person. Only God is the Heavenly Father, first and above all earthly fathers and mothers. And our fathers and mothers themselves must love Him above all else, and they themselves must demand from us, their children, that we love God more than ourselves. If a person does not love God more than his father and mother, then such a person has earthly parents higher than God and he is no longer a true Christian... These words of Christ were literally fulfilled: remember, for example, the story of the suffering of the Holy Great Martyr Barbara, by hand own father accepted martyrdom, or that parent, a nobleman, who, when his son renounced Christ, was not afraid to say to the apostate Julian in the face: “Are you, king, telling me about this wicked son, who loved lies more than the truth?... He is no longer my son.” ...
But what about parents and children? Even if, Christ says, you prefer your soul to love for Me, you are still far from being My disciple: and who does not take up his cross who, having become My disciple, will not be ready for all sorts of sufferings and trials, difficult and shameful, which God will please to allow, so that carnal passions and worldly lusts are killed in a person - and follows me whoever does not carry his cross after Me, just as I myself carry My cross, he is not worthy of me! “Whoever does not renounce this life and does not give himself up to a shameful death (for this is how the ancients thought about the cross), he is unworthy of Me. Since,” notes Blessed Theophylact, “many are crucified as robbers and thieves, he added: "and follows me", i.e. lives according to My laws." Therefore, in the holy evangelist Luke, the Savior says even more strongly: “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.”(Luke 14:26) . He commands not only to hate, for this is completely illegal, but if one of them demands that you love him more than Me, then in this case hate him. Such love destroys both the beloved and the lover. “Who walks in the footsteps of Christ? He who lives according to His holy commandments and imitates Him in everything as far as he can. And whoever cares too much about bodily life thinks that he is gaining his soul, while in fact he is destroying it; who saved his soul(Whoever saves it for temporary life, having renounced Me in any way), he will lose her, will lose his soul for eternal life, will lose eternal life and suffer eternal death for betraying the true faith. And, on the contrary, lost his soul who will not spare his temporary life, for me Whoever suffers for Me, like a good warrior in the feat of martyrdom, will will save her, will save his soul for the future life. “Why do you not want to hate your soul? Is it because you love her? But for this reason, you will hate her, and then you will benefit her most of all and prove that you love her. Great was the power of the Speaker, great was the love of those listening; That’s why they, hearing much more sorrowful and painful things than the great men Moses and Jeremiah heard, remained obedient and did not contradict” (words of St. John Chrysostom). However, in such a great feat, the Lord promises the disciples support from believers, to whom He promises a great reward for such support, showing that in this case He cares more about those who receive than about those who are received, and gives them first honor.
Whoever receives you receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me.. Whoever honors you honors Me, and through Me also My Father. What can compare with the honor of receiving the Father and the Son? But at the same time He promises another reward: who receives the prophet- not for the sake of any representation or intercession before the kings, not from any earthly calculations, but in the name of the prophet, for the sake of that Divine truth, which the prophet, by Divine inspiration, speaks, for the sake of that holy work that the prophet serves - and your apostolic ministry is not lower than the prophetic - such and will receive the prophet's reward; and who receives the righteous(not out of worldly hospitality, not hypocritically, for the sake of decency, so that people would not condemn him for not accepting, not out of vanity, that he is close to the righteous), but in the name of the righteous, for the sake of the righteousness that the righteous reveals in life (and your life should especially shine with righteousness), - such for accepting you into his home will receive the reward of the righteous, will receive a reward - either what the one who accepted the prophet or righteous man is worthy to receive, or what the prophet or righteous man himself will receive. This reward awaits the host in the Kingdom of Heaven, in blissful eternity. “So, honor good,” says the Monk Isidore Pelusiot, “not for the sake of human glory, not for the sake of worldly gain, but for the sake of good itself,” looking at goodness as the fruits of the grace of God dwelling in the saints of God, and you yourself will be glorified with the saints . And so that no one would use poverty as an excuse, the Lord added: and who with nothing to give, give drink to one of these little ones, one of you, small and humble in the eyes of the world and humble in your own opinion of yourself, who will give drink to you, weary on the way, just a cup of cold water, which will no longer cost anything for the submitter, in the name of the student, only because he who thirsts is My disciple, Truly I tell you, he will not lose his reward., because by this he will show his love for Me, your common Teacher and Lord. “So, the Lord values not so much what is given as the diligence, will and love of the giver; Therefore, He valued the widow’s two mites more valuable than rich deposits, which were made by the rich, but without diligence” (Reverend Isidore Pelusiot). But whoever shows kindness to his neighbor not in the name of love for his Savior, but for other motives, even the most noble ones, for example, out of a feeling of simple human compassion, or out of his own kindness, or in the name of what is now called humanity, does not yet show true love for his Savior and therefore does not deserve a reward from Him in blissful eternity.
This is the difference between natural good, which is common for a pagan to do, and truly Christian virtue, performed in the name of Christ’s commandment, with the help of His grace, and therefore having the power to give life to our soul and, therefore, saving. “The Lord,” notes St. Chrysostom, “here speaks of prophets and disciples, and at other times he commands to accept even the most despicable, and determines punishment for those who do not accept them: “Because you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.”(Matthew 25:45) . For even if the one you receive was neither a disciple, nor a prophet, nor a righteous man, he is a person who lives with you in the same world, sees the same sun, has the same soul, the same Lord, shares the same and the same Sacraments, moreover, he is called to Heaven, and has absolutely the right to demand charity from you, being poor and in need of necessities.” “He who admonishes a man burning with the fire of anger and lusts, and makes him a disciple of Christ, also gives a cup of ice water: and this one, of course, will not lose his reward.”
Trinity leaves. No. 801-1050.
Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.
He who saves his soul will lose it; but he who loses his life for My sake will save it.
Whoever receives you receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; whoever receives the prophet, in the name of the prophet, will receive the reward of the prophet; and whoever receives the righteous, in the name of the righteous, will receive the reward of the righteous.
And whoever gives one of these little ones to drink only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, truly I tell you, will not lose his reward.
Matthew 10:37-42
Interpretation of the Gospel of the Blessed
Theophylact of Bulgaria
Blessed Theophylact Bulgarian Matthew 10:37. Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;
You see that it is only necessary to hate parents and children if they want to be loved more than Christ. But what am I saying about the father and children? Hear more:
Matthew 10:38. and whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.
Whoever, he says, does not renounce this life and does not give himself up to a shameful death (for this meant the cross among the ancients), is not worthy of Me. But since many are crucified as robbers and thieves, he added: “and follows Me,” that is, lives in accordance with My laws!
Matthew 10:39. He who saves his soul will lose it; but he who loses his life for My sake will save it.
He who cares about carnal life thinks that he is saving his soul, but he destroys it too, subjecting him to eternal punishment. Whoever destroys his soul and dies, but not as a robber or suicide, but for the sake of Christ, saves it.
Matthew 10:40. Whoever receives you receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me;
Matthew 10:41. whoever receives the prophet, in the name of the prophet, will receive the reward of the prophet;
And whoever receives the righteous, in the name of the righteous, will receive the reward of the righteous.
Encourages us to accept those who are with Christ, for whoever honors His disciples honors Him, and through Him the Father. The righteous and prophets must be received in the name of the righteous and the prophet, that is, because they are righteous and prophets, and not because of any representation or intercession with kings. But if someone wears only the appearance of a prophet, but in reality turns out to be not one, you accept him as a prophet, and God will reward you in the same way as if you had actually accepted a righteous person. For this is what the words mean: “he will receive the reward of the righteous.” You can understand them differently: the one who accepts the righteous will be recognized as righteous; and he will receive the same reward as the righteous.
Matthew 10:42. And whoever gives one of these little ones to drink only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, truly I tell you, will not lose his reward.
The Lord said to His disciples: whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. He who saves his soul will lose it; but he who loses his life for My sake will save it. Whoever receives you receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me; whoever receives the prophet, in the name of the prophet, will receive the reward of the prophet; and whoever receives the righteous, in the name of the righteous, will receive the reward of the righteous. And whoever gives one of these little ones to drink only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, truly I tell you, will not lose his reward. And when Jesus finished teaching his twelve disciples, he went from there to teach and preach in their cities.
“Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me,” says Christ. What harsh words! Inhumane words - who can understand them, especially in our time, which is so difficult for parents in their difficult relationships with their children. It seems simply incredible that the Lord would advise children to stop loving their parents! No, the fifth commandment of God is God’s sacred institution: “Honor your father and mother.” Christ Himself gave an example of obedience and fidelity to His Mother (Luke 2:51; John 19:26–28). He also reminds us that specific concern for parents comes even ahead of the “sacrifice for the Temple” (Matthew 15:3-6). What does the Lord want to say with these harsh words?
Here Christ touches upon our most sacred duty, to say with the utmost clarity that we are to prefer Him to those most beloved, to those whom we ought to love most. Following Christ, being a believer in Him, can sometimes cause opposition from those closest to us. But the Lord requires us to be able to prefer Him to everything. And we know, especially in our time, how often this happens. The Word of God offers a decisive choice that is our whole life. Because of the demand for radical change, Christ can often be the cause of division even within families united by the strongest natural affection. Two thousand years after these words were first spoken, this confrontation is not as new as some might think. It's all about how we can gain the courage to remain faithful to Christ even at the cost of our heart's blood.
“Whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me,” declares the Lord. These words are absolutely consonant with the previous ones. After the relationship of children to parents comes the relationship of parents to children. Christ demands that He be given first place in our love for anyone. Who can have the right to such an unacceptable, incomprehensible demand except God? Of all the great founders of the world's religions, Christ is the only one who says this. All other religions place God above all else. And here Christ does not cease to repeat to those who are “not worthy of Me.” Who is He?
We usually say that only by loving each other do we love God. And so it is. God wants our relationships to be based on love. It would be terrible if we began to use these words of the Savior to justify our lack of love, our selfish inability to care for loved ones, our focus on personal interests.
Love your father and mother. To love your son or daughter. This applies not only to a narrow family circle. Here is the basis of our hereditary, cultural, human connections. Whether we like it or not, we depend on each other, and we create this dependence. We are part of the “environment”, the whole that makes up our life. But this unity, no matter how important it is, cannot be an excuse for us that we do not follow Christ. Whoever loves his environment more than Me, says Christ, is not worthy of Me. He who loves his friends more than Me, says Christ, is not worthy of Me. Whoever loves what happens to him, the work of his life, more than Me, is not worthy of Me!
“And whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. This is the third stage of rejection. One must also deny oneself and, first of all, oneself. This word about the Cross reminds us that Christ does not offer us anything that He Himself would not fulfill. Every cross that is given to us, every sorrow, is an invitation to follow Christ. During the earthly life of Christ, the Cross was neither a shrine nor a decoration - crucifixion was very common, performed in front of curious crowds cruel execution intended for slaves.
“He who saves his soul,” says Christ, “will lose it. But he who loses his life for My sake will save it.” How contrary is this to what one values most? modern world: today the highest goal of a person is to “realize oneself”, to reveal oneself in full. And Christ proposes to lose oneself and destroy oneself!
However, if we think a little, we will see in this commandment of Christ one of the fundamental laws of our life. A human being who is unable to deny himself for another is incapable of love. Every day our life convinces us that it is necessary to sacrifice ourselves in order to truly realize ourselves in the love of another. A paradox that is truly revealed only in the light of the Paschal mystery of Christ. Lose your life to gain it! The word of Christ is firm and joyful. This is a priceless acquisition. The Lord invites us to die to ourselves in order to live an authentic life. “I came that they might have life, and life more abundantly,” He says (John 10:10). This can have nothing in common with that nihilistic heroism, with that suicidal clouding of reason that is being implanted today. The Lord speaks about the daily feat of love, which requires us to renounce ourselves for the sake of others - this is the highest flowering of the human personality.
Not the destruction of man, but his creation! It is enough for us to remember about the Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, the holy righteous John of Kronstadt, the holy martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth and our other countless saints. And withdrawal into oneself, into one’s petty egoism, into one’s ambitions, is the most reliable way, as Christ says, to destroy your life. To be baptized, according to the word of the Apostle, is to be crucified with Christ in order to live with Him. And every liturgy reminds us that the Lord gave Himself for us.
“Whoever receives you receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me,” says Christ. No matter what happens to us, it is always about love, and about love in its simplest expression - accepting another. Receiving Christ's servants, others, without knowing it themselves, received not only angels, but Christ Himself: “Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty?” No matter how small our ability to do good may be, the Lord accepts even a cup of cold water given to one of these little ones. Our good deeds are determined not by the price of the gift, but by the love of the giver. For this reason, the widow's copper coin was not only accepted, but placed above all other offerings.
We must do good, looking to Christ, for His sake. A prophet must be received in the name of a prophet, a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, and one of these little ones in the name of a disciple, because they all carry within themselves the holiness and image of Christ. Kindness shown to those who are Christ's will not only be accepted, but will be greatly rewarded. Rewards can be different: there is a reward for a prophet, there is a reward for a righteous person, and there is a reward for one of these little ones. But they all lie in our one and only, unique and endless communion with Christ in eternity.
From today's Gospel reading for All Saints' Sunday, 1st after Pentecost:
" Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves a son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me"(Matthew 10:37-38).
Luke says in a similar place even harsher:
"...If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and, moreover, his own life, he cannot be My disciple;
and whoever does not bear his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple"(Luke 14:26-27).
It is clear that “hate” here does not mean literally experiencing hatred (" everyone who hates his brother is a murderer" - 1 John 3:15), but simply - to love less or not to put in first place. Of course, that any normal person I could not utter such words about myself, being in full and sound mind! They could only be uttered by “one who has power” The only son God, in whom “all the fullness of divinity dwelt bodily.”
But who can admit with all honesty that God and His beloved Son are always in first place in his life and that he alone is given the most love?.. Recognition of this intellectually and theoretically is not always necessarily confirmed in our lives practically. And the latest sad events pose the following question: who loves their earthly fatherland (independent Ukraine or great Russia) greater than Christ - are they worthy of Him? And even more so, is the integrity of any state worth the sacrifices that have already been made now and will still be made? How and are the different interests of neighboring states worth the same sacrifices?..
Questions, of course, hang in the air. None of those who call themselves Christians (Orthodox, in particular) are truly worthy of Christ, otherwise he would already be completely not of this world. “No one is worthy from those bound by carnal lusts and passions to come, or draw near, or serve You, the King of Glory” (prayer of the Cherubic song at the liturgy). Jesus came not to save the worthy, but the unworthy. Not the righteous, but sinners. The question is, does anyone really want to become a little more worthy of Christ! That is, what are everyone’s intentions, what is the value orientation of our lives. Truly, God has now given millions of people a test of their own Christianity: in particular, what Christ really means to them, here and now, and what is any person who bears the image of God, but not necessarily a friend and like-minded person. Let this be another Samaritan in the modern version, with whom, let’s say, it would be beneath one’s dignity to communicate!
Our Lord Jesus! If You are giving us, who consider ourselves Your followers, another “lice test,” so be it. Do you always come first? Is it really your will, or various other earthly interests?
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