Father Maximilian was a great example of a modern day disciple. He was a man that would have had first hand experience of great depressive events. The destruction of innocent peoples lives. He was special because he gave the people hope. Hope that they were able to make it and that if they didn’t they had God. He guided them through the bad times and gave them someone to look up to. In the worst of condition he gave church services to keep the spirit. He gave them another alternative and that alternative was God. Eventually he gave his life up for the people in order to lead the way. He died to prove that God was and still is with them.
Next I am going to look at another modern day disciple known as Martin Luther King.
Martin Luther King was born on the 15 January 1929 in the middle of the American South, Atlanta, Georgia. Martin Luther King knew ever since his early ages that black people were not treated equally as citizens of the United States. Four million slaves were taken from the homeland, Africa and were taken to America as slaves. Even though in 1869 Abraham Lincoln had abolished slavery the black people had always been kept in the poorer sides of the richest nation in the world. The black people were only able to earn half the wages of a white man. Most of them lived in the ghetto and were separated form public places. There were organisations such as the ku Klax Klan that wanted to reintroduce the slavery and continuously used violence against them. Martin Luther King was a Christian and he became in a doctor of theology. It was in 1954 that he became a Baptist minister in Montgomery, Alabama. Martin Luther King believed that the only way for his race to become equal was to protest without the presence of violence. He was not however followed by all the people. Some believed the only way to achieve Luther’s goals was by using violence. Such Malcolm X. On buses in Montgomery black people had to sit at the back of the bus and if an old black person was asked to move by a white person he would have to do so. Martin Luther King then organised a bus boycott, which is when black people refuse to use the bus. He insisted that the boycott was to go on until they were treated equally. The movement became known as the civil rights movement. In 1960 Martin Luther King then became the leader of this movement. In 1956 a government law was made that it was illegal to segregate people on buses. Martin Luther King continuously campaigned and in 1957 he spoke to a crowd of 40 thousand people in Washington. He then organised many other peaceful marches. He then led a crowd of 250 thousand people at Washington at a freedom march in 1960 to give black people the right to vote. All through Luther’s life he was confronted by violence but he stood strong. He had been stabbed, his house had been bombed and his family had many death threats. Even though all this had happened he continued his work knowing God was with him and knew that all the violence he was faced with could be conquered by love and forgiveness. Luther’s was given a Nobel peace prize in 1964 and in 1965 the blacks were given the right to vote. In 1967 America fought with the Vietnamese taking 400 thousand people to war with them. On Christmas eve Martin Luther King gave the speech ‘Man is a child of God, made in his image…until men see this everywhere…we will be fighting wars.’ A white man called James Earl Ray in 1968 shot Martin Luther King dead at the age of 39 in Memphis, leaving the world shocked. He wife later wrote; ‘The killer of the dream could end his mortal existence with a single bullet but not all the bullets in all the arsenals in the world can affect his death.’
Martin Luther King was a great example of a modern disciple. He was a man that went through a lot. He had been stabbed and yet did not retaliate as he continued to stand strong. He stood up for his race. He never believed that violence was not the way to solve injustice (like Jesus). He was a great Christian at mind. He showed the power of love and care could overcome any force. He showed that things could be resolved not just by protesting but by will and letting those that don’t know realise what they have done wrong. By creating an understanding with the whites and given them a chance to be forgiven for their actions. He did not want to retaliate at all. He just wanted everyone to be equal, of all religions and all nationalities. He wanted to have a peace amongst all the races. He wanted the whites to look beyond the colour of their skin and instead look for a human being with a personality and with emotions just the way Jesus did. This is why Martin Luther king is a great disciple.
Next I am going to look at another modern day disciple known as the Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
A black man Desmond Tutu was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in the year of 1984. He then in 1986 became the first black Archbishop in the whole of South Africa. Many people from all over the world came to view his receiving of the Nobel Prize. Guests such as Stevie Wonder, the archbishop of Canterbury, Coretta King, and the wife of Martin Luther King also attended ceremony. Desmond Tutu was born on the 7th December 1931. He then became a priest at the age of 25. Desmond Tutu had worked in Britain as well as South Africa. He then in 1976 became the bishop of Lesotho and then became the secretary of the South African Council of Church’s otherwise known as the SACC in 1978. The SACC represents up to 13 million Christians in South Africa, of which most of them were black. The Dutch Reform Church withdrew from the council as they generally follow the policy of Apartheid. As the archbishop, archbishop Desmond Tutu made it his duty to fight against the policy of apartheid (it means that the whites and the blacks had to develop separately but the black were not treated fairly, equally), as he believed that the policy was totally unchristian. Even before he became the archbishop of Johannesburg he had organized previous non-violent protest against apartheid, which gave him conflict between the authorities. He had led a march through the slums of Soweto in 1976 where nearly 600 black people were shot dead. He had also saved the life of a black police officer in 1982. While being stoned he jumped in front and protected the officer from the fatal stones. Desmond Tutu believed that a Christian in South Africa should fight against the injustice and fight for equality. He believed that the Bible was the most revolutionary book ever written. People believe that archbishop Tutu has not been banned for his actions or even assassinated due to the fact that he very popular. People do argue that Christians should not get involved in politics but archbishop Desmond Tutu argued otherwise in a ceremony called ‘Divine Intervention’ in 1977. He argued that a true Christian should never let us be indifferent to the needs of others and that we should look out and care for those in need. He said that a true Christian includes the love of God and the love of our neighbour. If the two are not together then he believed their Christianity was false. He also argued that Christianity is not something that we put on for only Sundays and that Christianity was what we are everyday of the week and in everything we do. He said that we too should worship our God forever, and ever, and serve him by serving our neighbours forever.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu is a great example of a modern day disciple. He is not just an archbishop but also a man that has no fear and expresses his emotions and true feelings. He saved a police officer from dying which proves the fact that he puts his life before others. For years he had fought against apartheid only to have the justice the people deserve. He fought for the equality of white and black. Desmond Tutu was quite a powerful man and therefore the authorities did not attack him. He took advantage of this fact and instead of hiding he took the authorities on with the people following him. He said many great speeches, which was enough to win the strength of the people. He was a true Christian in heart and soul and tried to change the wrong the same way Jesus did.
Last I am going to look at another modern day disciple known as Mother Teresa.
In 1973 a British TV producer allowed the viewing of a program about a 63-year-old Yugoslavian missionary working in the slums of Calcutta. The program caused so much interest that the program had to be repeated as 20 thousand pounds was received for the poor in Calcutta. The missionary was Mother Teresa. Twenty-seven years before she felt that God was calling her to help and go amongst the very poor of Calcutta. It was her interest to spend her life and share life experiences with the poor. She then opened a school for the poor in the slums and started teaching them in 1948. She began feeding and looking after the dying children left in alleys and dustbins. When in 1952 she saw a half eaten women by rats she demanded for a building from the authorities. She was then given an unused temple in order carry out her work. She took dying people off the streets and into the building. The building was then named ‘Home for the Dying’. Soon after she received help from other nuns so she then formed a Congregation of Sisters. She once said that the people just want to know that they’re wanted more than anything else. She then in 1957 extended her work to help lepers in the city. The Congregation became stronger and spread through to other towns in India and throughout the world. Mother Teresa is really a remarkable woman as she inspires millions of people. She wakes at 4am in the morning and works tirelessly to satisfy those who are in need. She’s said that without Christ we cannot do what is right but with him we can do anything. Mother Teresa has won many prizes and in 1979 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She travels all over the world with other sisters to help victims of disasters. She works all through the day without having to worry about time as she helps an endless amount of people who have nothing and have lost any possessions that they may have had. Mother Teresa brought many things to people lives such as love, peace, comfort, hope, and purpose.
Mother Teresa is an excellent example of a modern day disciple. She has truly dedicated her life to those in need. We know this as she went to India to live amongst the poor in the slums of Culcutta. This is a great sacrifice to make. Mother Teresa always showed her care for everyone. It was her care that touched that the viewers of a British television program which received up to 20 thousand pounds in order to support her work. She fought against the odds and even started her own school, teaching children that were left dying on the streets. She stated that all the people wanted, was to know that they are wanted. She was the person who showed they were wanted therefore making her their inspiration. She put her heart and soul into her work with the people and really couldn’t do anything more. She has done an outstanding achievement. She, like Jesus went out of her way to help those who needed it.
All of these are examples of modern day disciples. They have all dedicated their lives to the people. There is a big difference between modern disciple’s and old disciples. In the olden days they could leave everything they had and could survive on their own. Now it is almost impossible to survive on your own as it all depends on money. The modern day disciple’s needed money to carry out their work. Therefore they are very much different. It is the actions of the modern day disciples that make them a disciple. Though they do not leave everything to preach the word of the Lord but they dedicate their lives to the lord sacrificing any leisure they could have. It is the fact that both modern and olden day disciple’s try to follow the footsteps of Jesus the best they can that brings them to do the same duty, preach the word of the lord. None of the disciple’s that I have chosen has lived very pleasant lives but they know that their purpose is special in its own way. It is their work that makes them happy and proud. Their work is admirable as well as inspirational. It takes a lot of courage and bravery as well as dedication to be a disciple. They sacrificed their own lives for the lord and his people.
These are the sources of which I have taken my facts from:
Contemporary Moral Issues-Joe Jenkins
Heinemann Educational Books
A Time to Live-The New Christian Way-Maura Hyland
Veritas
The Christian Experience-Living Faith-Michael Keene
Stanley Thornes Ltd.
By Akila Fernando