 |
| "Man's Best Friend" by Chris Ford, on Flickr |
Our readings in worship through the end of June and into July all seek to answer one particular question: "What does it mean to be a disciple?"
The twelve disciples try to answer the question for themselves and fail spectacularly. They have been commissioned by Jesus with the power to go out and heal and cast out demons. Except that they are more concerned with the power they have been given than with the faith that makes it possible. They try to cast out a demon, and they fail. They argue about greatness. They get angry when someone outside their ranks is (successfully) casting out demons in Christ's name. They get mad when the Samaritan village doesn't show them hospitality, and in a spectacularly misguided fit of enthusiasm, they ask Jesus whether he wants them to call down fire from heaven upon those who were unwelcoming. As if they could really accomplish that task, seeing as they couldn't find faith enough to cast out a demon just a few paragraphs earlier. The disciples think discipleship is about greatness and power, when, in fact, discipleship is about humility and even weakness in the eyes of the world.
A few would-be disciples try to answer the question for themselves, thinking that discipleship is about eagerness in faith. But their eagerness has no foundation in reality. They want to serve Jesus without disrupting their ordinary lives. They want to follow Jesus, but have warm beds at night. They want to follow Jesus but not leave behind the griefs, responsibilities, and distractions that pull their hearts and their energy away from the mission of God's kingdom. These would-be disciples think that discipleship is low-commitment and high-return, when, in fact, discipleship is about high-commitment and faithfulness even when the outcomes are unknown.
Jesus will then send out seventy others to do the work of the kingdom. Not the twelve, not the would-be disciples, but seventy others who have somehow proven themselves to be up to the task. Jesus sends them out empty-handed. All that they carry with them is their faith, the shirt on their backs, and the power of Christ to heal and share the good news. From these seventy, we begin to learn what discipleship truly is. Discipleship is doing the work of Christ even when it feels like we have no resources to do so. Discipleship is relying on faith and relying on Christ, even in our vulnerability, for the sake of doing God's work.
After the seventy return, full of excitement by what they have seen and heard and done, Jesus will continue to teach about discipleship.
Discipleship, as we learn from the parable of the Good Samaritan, is the call to show more concern for the needs of those who have been bruised, beaten, and cast aside by the world than we show for our own plans, goals, or intentions. Discipleship means loving one another by serving. Discipleship, as we learn from Mary and Martha, is a call to both offer hospitality to others and to find refreshment in the word of God, which sustains us and empowers us for further service in the world. Discipleship means being bold in prayer, bringing to God the needs and the cares of the world with a spirit of faithful urgency. Discipleship means advocating and speaking up for the needs of others. Discipleship means seeking God's kingdom ahead of all of the treasures of this world; discipleship means simplicity and sacrifice, generosity, faithful stewardship of creation and of all God's gifts.
Our readings this month make it very clear that discipleship does not leave us unchanged. The call to follow Jesus - the call that is extended to each of us in baptism - is a call toward total life change. Discipleship means that we daily recommit ourselves to living by faith, living in the hope of God's kingdom, and shifting our priorities so that the work of God norms and governs the rest of our priorities and decision.
And the good, though unsettling, news is that we don't turn ourselves into disciples. No, God, who has claimed you and called you and promised you eternal life, is the God who already moves in your heart, who already stirs you toward action, who already gives you new eyes to see a world in need of salvation. God is at work in you, changing your life from the inside out, and giving you the power to work for the kingdom. This work will, ultimately, cost you your life. But it will also give you life. Abundant life, here in this world, and eternal life in the next.
Joy and blessings to you, my fellow disciples! Together, let us lose our lives and then find them again. Together, let us pray and serve one another and seek justice. Together, let us walk this path of discipleship as we grow in faith, grow in love, and transform our world as we ourselves are being transformed.