Jesus undoubtedly had a kind of star quality. We remember the musical called 'Jesus Christ Superstar'. Because of His very original and powerful teaching, because of the spectacular signs by which He healed seriously ill people and liberated others from evil influences, He attracted a great deal of attention. And we know that, after He had fed 5,000 men (not counting women and children) till they were filled, the excited crowds wanted to make Him king. He had to flee to the mountains to get away from them. So in today's Gospel we see Jesus being followed by large crowds. Should He not be happy? Is not that why He came? And yet, He turns to them and says alarming words: "If any one comes to me without hating father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters and even his own life, he cannot be a follower of mine." The following of Jesus cannot be not like 'groupies' round some pop celebrity. To follow Jesus is to be with Him all the way - all the way to the cross on Calvary. So Jesus today is asking those crowds - and us too - if we seek Jesus just out of what we think we can get from Him or because we want to give ourselves totally and conditionally to Him and His mission. It is only in that giving that we will find what we want most deeply in our lives.