As recovering people who have lived a life of active addiction, compulsion, or unhealthy attachment, both readings address the stark reality of prioritizing abstinence over everything else in order to avoid spiritual, emotional, and even physical death. Just as the recovering person knows that “Half measures availed us nothing,” the Gospel message today stresses that serving the Lord, first and foremost, is the only pathway to peace (Alcoholics Anonymous). Perhaps we struggle with a sense of being pulled in two different directions as we hear Jesus’ words that appear to require the severing of ties with family and loved ones when “push comes to shove.” If we fail to understand the purpose and meaning behind the hyperbole, we may mischaracterize Jesus’ directive as a challenge to the notion of honoring our fathers and mothers, keeping commitments and vows made with spouses, and taking on the responsibilities we have to our children and all of our loved ones.

But the reality for the recovering addict and the dutiful Christian is the same when it comes to following Jesus, our Higher Power; we can truly honor and love our families only when we place God as our first priority. If we do not actively seek Him above all else, our relationships cannot survive because the love required to sustain them will fade as sin and imperfection arise within us and those around us. In the same fashion, if the recovering person does not place God’s redemptive intervention first and foremost, all of his/her relationships will be doomed to failure. As we ponder more deeply the truth Jesus speaks to us in today’s Gospel reading, we discover that the conflict and division to which He refers is more often than not a result of failing to set our sights first on Him rather than a consequence of doing so. In choosing first to follow Jesus, we are, paradoxically, choosing to embrace our loved ones in the most genuine and loving manner possible. Let us pray for the faith to seek Him first and trust that our loved ones will be blessed by God for our efforts.

Reflection Questions

• In what ways have you struggled to balance your recovery efforts with family commitments?
• What are the barriers that may be keeping you from placing the Lord as your first priority?

Daily Mass Readings

First Reading: Isaiah 1:10-17
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 50:8-9, 16BC-17, 21 AND 23
Gospel: Matthew 10:34-11:1

Reflection by Mark L.