Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus lays down the condition for discipleship: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. . . . Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Well, let’s perform a little thought experiment. Could you imagine any other religious leader or religious founder saying such a thing?
Could you honestly imagine Mohammed saying it? No! He might say, “Whoever loves father or mother more than the Quran . . .” Could you honestly imagine the Buddha saying it? No! He might say, “Whoever loves father or mother more than my teaching . . .” Could you imagine Moses saying it? No! Perhaps he would say, “Whoever loves father or mother more than the Lord . . .”
But they wouldn’t say, “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.” This is precisely what Jesus says, which makes all the difference. For he is not one religious founder among many, not one prophet of the truth in a long line of prophets. He is the one to whom all religions, directly or indirectly, point; he is, in person, the truth to which all prophets testify.