“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, ...
he cannot be my disciple. ..."This passage from the Gospel of Luke is confusing. Jesus tells us to "hate"???
Two keys that can help us understand this passage better:
1. Translation
2. Hyperbole
1. Translation: (the short, short, version) the New Testament was originally written in Greek (c. ~70 - ~100 AD), translated to Latin in the Middle Ages by St. Jerome (c. 400 AD), and finally translated into English starting in the 1500s.
This is why Bibles, such as the New American Bible, include footnotes explaining how certain words don't translate exactly from the ancient Greek or Latin into modern English. For example:
* [14:26] Hating his father…: cf. the similar saying in Mt 10:37. The disciple’s family must take second place to the absolute dedication involved in following Jesus (see also Lk 9:59–62).2. Jesus is speaking to the crowd and he's using hyperbole, which is a fancy word for exaggeration. Its purpose is to get our attention.
Jesus is asking us:
"What is most important to you? Is it being my disciple?" MORE RESOURCESUnderstanding the Bible by the USCCB
A
commentary from the Carmelite Sisters about this passage.