Allegiance to the nation that wages the war in the hope it will preserve the freedom of those at home. People may argue about the validity of a war but ultimately those who die are honored for the sacrifice of self for the common good. Set this against today s Gospel. Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brother s and sisters, yes, and even life itself cannot be my disciple. Consider our response.
Protest rises immediately to our lips.
None of you can be my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions. Surely, we hope, Jesus means this metaphorically, symbolically, or any other rationalization that will enable us not to confront the demand for our allegiance to the Christ. For a demand for allegiance is what it is. Many people came to hear Jesus, to be with Jesus, some even to be healed by Jesus. But not all of them became disciples of Jesus.