Against Their Parents

Against Their Parents Commentary by Donato Loia Cite Share Show Bible Passage This passage from Matthew presents a contrast between the authorities of this world and the absolute authority of the Spirit as conflicting forces. Yet, this division extends further, introducing an even more shocking rift: the one between the disciples and their families. The suggestion that children might rebel against their parents and even ‘have them put to death’ (Matthew 10:21) is jarring, seemingly at odds with the idea of Christ as compassionate and loving. Before delving further into the passage, I want to consider how this idea finds a striking parallel in the story of St Francis and his father, as depicted in Sassetta’s painting. Sassetta illustrates this familial rupture in his depiction of Francis renouncing his worldly ties. Commissioned by the Franciscans of Borgo San Sepolcro (Finaldi and Joustra 2023), this painting captures the moment when Francis—emaciated from penance, abstinence, and imprisonment—stands naked under a colonnade in front of his raging father, Pietro Bernardone. Bishop Guido of Assisi shields Francis while imploring his enraged father to restrain himself. Pietro, a wealthy cloth merchant, is held back by friends, incapable of comprehending his son’s complete renunciation of wealth and devotion to poverty. At his feet lie Francis’s discarded garments, a potent symbol of his rejection of worldly opulence. As Bernard Berenson notes, the painting captures the contrast between saintliness and worldliness: the calmness of Francis’s side versus the violence of his father’s reaction (Berenson 1909: 23–24). Despite the contrast, the work does not lack sympathy for the father. Francis’s concerned gaze suggests compassion for his father, even in the face of their division. Yet, the emphasis remains on the rupture itself. Francis’s future decision to wear a rough habit is the antithesis of his father’s values, underscoring the passage’s blunt message: to follow Christ is to be hated for valuing renunciation over worldly success, and divine authority over familial ties. Francis’s nakedness offers a powerful visual response to another teaching of the Matthean Christ: ‘And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin’ (Matthew 6:28–29). In this moment, Francis’s humility and detachment are a living embodiment of this question, casting his choice as a radical affirmation of faith over worldly attachment.