Yesterday I preached about Discipleship... the Gospel was about Jesus calling four guys (fishermen) to follow him. And they did. In fact they (and the text makes it clear) dropped everything to follow.
So I've been thinking about that in my life... What makes a "disciple"? What makes a "good" disciple? And how serious does one have to be about this. Do you have to go to India, or Africa, or work in the Amazon forest, or in the inner cities? There are churches out there that are VERY serious about disciple-making. Lutheran ones even!
But what does that mean? If we were "better" disciples would we think about God more? Would we pray more? Would we do more things out in the world to help people more? I can thinkk of a lot of atheits that are better "disciples" of Jesus than some Christians I know.
Does it mean to strive for betterment? I have a lot of questions. But my faith is one in which I have to question, to look, to inspect, etc. It seems one of the first things I do when I'm preparing a sermon, besides pray, is ask a few questions... things that are important to my journey.
Does being a disciple mean falling back on our faith every day, and everyday say... "Today, I'll try this living-thing again"? "Today I'll choose to live as best as I can, trusting that God is with me"? I believe that we can't understand Jesus' death without first understanding his life; how he lived, what he did, etc. Did he "make disciples"? You bet he did. The texts are very clear, he sends out the 12 first, then he snds out the 70 (or 72 depending on the texts). So.. what did he do and how did he do it?
He trained people to be sensitive to the pains of others, to the wounds of the world, to see past the initial impressions we have of people.
I remember a story where a guy is sitting on the subway, and at one stop a man and three kids get on. The car is almost empty, and the kids, not long after arriving, begin to run all over the place, basically acting like wild kids. The guy keeps looking to see if the father will do anything, but the man is just sitting there, staring at nothing, acting as if his kids aren't even there. Finally he says somethign to the man about his kids. And the man responds by saying something like, "We were just at the hospital. We're going home now. Their mother just died."
Certainly under normal circumstances, kids ought not be acting like that, but I think the point is that Jesus would have taught his disciples to see beyond the "obvious".
Case in point: first off- who were his disciples? Many were what we would call today blue-collar workers- manual laborers. Then there was the tax collector. In those days, the Roman occupation got it's taxes from Jews that worked for them collecting taxes from their own people, to give to the Romans. And they got their "pay" by collecting over and above the allotted taxes. So they could "get" as much as they wanted I suppose. But the idea was that they weren't popular with other Jews, to say the least! And he picks one to be a disciple. And he goes and eats with another one. And he eats and spends time with people who are "sinners".
Sinner in the gospel (especially) is a technical term that mostly might mean a person that is in a state of being ritually unclean. It may or may not have anything to do with morality. In our culture, "sinning" has has almost everything to do with morality. Not so much back then though. But the point of being a "sinner" back then (refering to the state of being ritually unclean) meant that you could not worship God in the Temple... which was part of what one did to worship.
It's kind of like communion today for us. Only imagine if the pastors said only those that did X, Y, or Z (or if you didn't do A, B, or C) could come to communion.
Now, in order to get ritually clean you had to go through various types of rituals, depending on whatyou might have done or not done, or how long it had been since your last ritual cleansing, etc. As far as that goes, it wasn't a problem... the problem was that there were cleansing rituals prescribed for lots of things, and many of these rituals cost lot's of money. Evidently this was another source of income for the temple priests.
So invariable some people probably chose to "opt out" of this system by notn participating. But that then meant essentially turning your back on the whole thing. Thing was, if you couldn't fully participate there, what did you do? Join another religion? Well, you were a Jew... was there really another choice? But to those for whom these things were important... those who "turned their backs on the system" were seen as suspect.
Jesus then reaches out to them. They were by definition shut out of ritual contact with God. And he comes along and connects them back... for free. Jesus begins to preach "free cable with all the premium channels". Well not exactly, but you know what I mean. He's extending God's forgiveness, God's transforming touch, etc. But more importantly... he's teaching his discsiples to do the same.
So back to us. What does it mean for us to be disciples of Jesus, in this world, in the US, in the 21st century? Is there anything "different" about a disciple versus a non-disciple? Question to you...
I remember a story about a monastery. The brothers there had invited a Buddhist monk to come and help them in a retreat. Now this monk was from that Buddhist tradition that had koans. Koans are those questions that have no rational answer. But it's in the seeking of the answer, first through the intellect, (and when that fails - and it will) then deeper in the souls, that brings some degree of wisdom, or at the very least an abiltiy to see thigns from anothe r angle. Well, this buddhist monk thn arrives, and meets all the Christian monks. Then he takes time to prepare himself. And one of the things he does is read the bible, particularly the Gospels.
Then when when he's ready he calls each monk in separatley, and tells them he's read about Jesus. And he says he finds this interesting. He was particularly intereted in the stories of Jesus' resurrection. Then he asks each monk, in turn, "show me your resurrection."
Is this part what it means to be a disciple of Jesus... Living a resurrected life? and how does that play itself out?
Yesterday I talked about a disciple being any one of us that strives to be as faithful as we are able... every day. Living as best a life as we are able, falling back on the promises of God, knowing we are not going to be "perfect", but that perfection was not the goal. The goal is getting up every morning and entering into a world full of not black or white, but gray. There are no books out there that spell out what we "should" do in every ethical dilema. As parents, how can we be the best parents to our kids, knowing no two children are alike, and no two situations are the same.
Well, we do the best we can, knnowing we're going to screw up once in a while. And maybe being a disciple means getting up in the morning knowing we won't be perfect, but that's not the point... the point is we trust that God is there, and we have faith God will help us, if we're open enough to experience God's presence.
3 comments:
I read this at the beginning of the week and I've been thinking about it all week. I don't have much to write because I think this is a very introspective concept and difficult to put into words. We touched on it during Bible Study and I think it merits a LOT more discussion. And it is perfect for Lenten meditation as well. What are we doing and Why? How are we changing and is it for the better?
I am also in the process of reading Job and I think that this is a great corrolation. It gives ideas on leading the "perfect" life, how it isn't possible, why it matters to God anyway and more. And I'm only 1/3 of the way thru.
That's all for now....not much but I wanted to at least acknowledge that I read this and am having serious thoughts on it.
karen
Karen, thanks for writing. Actually this blogging thing is sometimes a bit unsettling. I've been learning you have to do this for yourself! You never know whether someone is "listening" or not, and if they are, whether they are even interested.
Although this topic is a fundamental "Christian" thing, and I'd love to write more on this... this has been an interesting week for me. I've had a lot going on, in the personal side of things.
Monday morning I got an e-mail from a good friedn of mine, who also happens to be a pastor.
Actually we started Seminary together. We were together for the pre-Seminary Greek intensive two weeks in the summer prior to the beginning of our Seminary career. Our friendship started there, and got tighter as we went on.
After Seminary he was sent to southern PA, and I stayed here, but we stayed in touch. Then he left PA and took a church here in a church near Hagerstown.
So we've had a number of years as pastors to stay in touch, talk about ministry issues, compare note, share personal stuff, etc. Actually I had invited him to come preach at my installation service here at ASLC. He an his wife were there at my grandmothers funeral when she died a few years ago.
Well, he sends this e-mail to the pastors in his Conference, and other friends saying he recently found out that he has pancreatic cancer, but considering the circumstances it looks good. He mentions that considering all that was going on for him he'd prefer not to have people call. But e-mail is fine. So I e-mail him (after picking my jaw up off the floor) and tell him my heart and prayers are with he and his wife. And I leave my phone number in case he wants to call.
He calls about an hour later, and says.. "CHAD..."
I can't tell who it is... "yes... who's this?"
"It's me..." and he tells me his name.
And while I'm still fumbling for words, he says... "Happy New Year!"
Right! Other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?
Then we talk a bit, and then he calls back Thursday and tells he the Doc had an opening for surgery and he's going in "tomorrow" morning (that would be Fri morning)
Great! Things look good- he's a great Doc - he's done this kind of thing lot's of times with mucho success! Great! Great! Looks really Good!
And he tells me he has a lot to organize and he's pretty much organized a lot of the stuff he needs to for the parish, but he was having a talk with someone that advised him to find himself a pastor. Well, we pastors don;t often have one... so he called and asked me if I'd be his "pastor".
Of Course buddy! You got it! By the way, what's the pay? Actually I said it's a flat rate for him... I can visit him once or 15 times, it's all the same rate. We laughed... humor is good!
In fact I thought this operation would come out good, in spite of the fact that his father had died from this very same cancer about 20 years ago.
Well, Friday morning I'd decided to visit someone, a former St. Dymas person (former in teh sense that he used to go to the St. Dysmas service, but now is Roman Catholic - but still in prison). When I leave the prison, I see my phone has 9 missed calls. "Nine? Who was trying to call me?"
It was my wife! So I call right away... My friends wife called the home and asked to speak with me. The surgery had gone as they had expected.
So I call, and his wife says the Doc opened him up and about two minutes in, he could tell there was no use. The cancer had moved pretty much all over - liver, everywhere. So he does what he needs to do and closes him up again.
SO I went straight to the Hospital from leaving the prison and was there until 4:30 yesterday. I was there when the Doc told him there really was nothing they could do. He could do chemo, and it could extend his life for about 12 months or so, but other than that... they really couldn't do anything. Without Chemo, the Doc was giving about 6 months.
So needless to say, I'm a bit ratteld by all this. I feel very strange about all this, but I can't even imagine how he and his family must be feeling.
We're all going to die, but how would you feel if you knew about when, and from what you'd die? Strange!
Then there's the issue with looking for another pre-school for my son. So add all this stuff up... and this week and next week wre going to be really pulling on my emotional energy. But no matter how I feel, he and his family are going through much worse.
Strange... many years ago my wife and I were driving home one night, late, around midnight, and this screech owl crosses our path... almost in front of our car, we almost hit it... right in front of the windshield. Then later on, a few days later, we get word that her grandmother has died. Then a few years ago, I'm driving home one night, again late, and almost the same thing happens. Another owl! And a few days later, on that same road, Justin Warfield is in a car crash that kills the young man driving. Then last week, the night before I get my friedns e-mail. I see this owl flying across my street. It's around 9 PM or so. It silently glides past me to a tree. I'm awestruck by this beautiful graceful... and absolutely silent... winged creature. I get a little closer to it, and it finally flies off, again absolutely silently. Then I find out about my friend.
I'm still processing all this I think. He's very young, 56 I think. That's too young! He's in great shape, lives well, eats well... I don't know.
I've been going through a lot of processing about my life lately, these past few years. Is this what a midlife crisis is? No red corvette, and I haven't metaphorically ran off with the secretary... But I really have spent a good deal of time processing Life Stuff... My life. So I'm at mid life - what do I have to show for my life up to this point? What kind of a man am I? What would my kids think of my life after I'm gone? That kind of thing...
Actually I've felt a rather strange affinity for my fathers father, who died when I was about 15 or so. He was a career army man, VERY fit, VERY tough! WWII vet, etc. But he really loved his son, and he really loved his grandkids. I recently found his flag (from his funeral), his dog-tags, his military ID card.
Then my friend finds this out... my mortality seems to be facing me straight on. Boy what a lent this will be!
I am so sorry to hear about your friend. Our prayers will certainly be with your friend, his family, and you. Obviously he feels very close to you since he asked you to be his pastor in these difficult times. And he certainly chose wisely....just the right amount of humor mixed in with a little quirky and someone who can listen as much as he needs.
I have to say, though, that it sounds as if the pastor who is already someone's pastor is going to need a pastor as well. That would be the pastor for the pastor's pastor? (sorry, bad attempt at trying to lighten the situation)
Anyway, I looked up the symbolism of the owl and surprise, surprise, it IS the harbinger of death. Native Americans, Japanese, you name it and they all agree. Very interesting (here you should imagine the voice of the man from 1960's TV show "Laugh In"....and even more funny if you picture him as well. Unfortunately can't remember his name, but I have a feeling you know who I am referring to) ooh,ooh another good quote "The force is very strong in this one" I don't think I have to tell you which movie this is....do I?
As I'm writing this, I am remembering some recent visions. Does the man you are referring to have either graying hair and mostly thinned on the top, or blond hair just starting to gray and not as thick as it used to be? I've seen both and it might be helpful if I knew who they were and could try and help. Not that I know HOW to do such a thing.
By the way, I am sorry, but the ruling is that in order for it to be a REAL mid-life crisis, you WILL have to at least test drive a red corvette or motorcycle. This test drive must be witnessed by at least 3 people to verify its authenticity and your lapse of good judgement. :)
Okay, time to go and leave 'em laughing....
karen
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