“The Good is order by a series of relations”. This is one of the underlying themes of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. What does this mean? Simply put, to be ordered by a series of relations means that my life and my actions must be ordered according to the various relationships that have a claim on me. If I am a husband, my life must be ordered in relation to my wife. Likewise, if I am a wife, my life must be ordered in relation to my husband. If I treat my children in the manner that I treat my wife, I act unjustly both towards my wife and my children. If I treat friends with the intimacy that should be reserved for my children, I again act unjustly – both towards my children and friends.
All of these relationships are ordered hierarchically. My relationship with my wife takes priority over my relationship with my children. My relationship with my children takes priority over my relationship with my friends – and so on and so forth. If we do not understand and live by this elementary truth, we will be profoundly unhappy. If our relationship become disordered, our relationships that mean the most to us will languish and our love will be frittered away.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus commands us to leave our father unburied and to leave home without saying goodbye, for “no one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62). How can Jesus be so harsh? How can he be so unfeeling? How can he be so inhuman? In fact, Jesus is not being harsh; he is not being unfeeling; and without paying heed to his words, it is us who will become inhuman. Jesus is simply applying that elementary truth: that “the Good is order by a series of relations”.
Beyond any human relation that we have, beyond any human intimacy that we experience, our first and most important relation – our most profound intimacy – is God. If we love our spouse, or our children, or our friends with the love that is due to God alone, we act unjustly and we will end in misery. When God says, “follow me”, we cannot allow other relations to interfere with our response to God’s call. Everything in our life must be ordered towards love of God.
In everyday life, our love for God is manifested through our relationship with our spouses and children, for we love God by loving our neighbour. However, we cannot lose sight of the underlying principle that animates these lesser loves. We love our spouse, our children, and our friends because we love God. If the order of our loves becomes inverted, we will be loveless – for God is the source of all our loves.
Ian Mahood – St. Joseph Seminary, Edmonton, Alberta
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