Modern Christians believe that they are disciples of Jesus. They consider it important to learn the teachings of Jesus and put them into practice in their daily lives. He is their example of a life lived according to the wishes of God; a role model.
Christians believe that eternal life is possible for those who choose to follow the teachings and example of Jesus Christ.
Jesus’ commission to those who wish to follow him, to be his disciples, is based on two principles. Christians should:
- Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.
- Love your neighbour as you love yourself.
- If you want to be the greatest you must be the servant of all.
There have been many individuals throughout the history of Christianity who have based their lives on these values. Some have done as much as they can in a quiet way, while the extraordinary actions of others have made them household names throughout the world.
I have chosen to compare Mother Teresa of Calcutta with Jesus’ disciples, as she was a modern day disciple because like the first twelve disciples she gave all she had to serve others.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta came to her way of life gradually. She was born in Yugoslavia and when she was 18 she decided to become a nun and joined the Sisters of Our Lady of Loreto in Ireland. When she entered the convent in Dublin she chose the name of Sister Teresa. By becoming a nun, she had made the decision to give up all her possessions, her family and her friends, and dedicate her life to the service of God. She spent a long time as a nun and in 1929 as a schoolteacher for girls in Calcutta. She was happy with her life and duties, but she was shocked by the poverty and disease that surrounded her school. However, in 1946 she felt that God was asking for more, she got permission from her order to teach children in the worst slums in Calcutta; she went to teach children who had never thought of having any kind of education and to establish a new order of nuns, the Missionaries of Charity.
When she was in Calcutta she saw the dying adults and children in the streets being eat away by the rats. In this way she began her life work: the care of the dying and the rescue of abandoned children.
She felt that she was being called by God to change the direction of her life; “I realised I had the call to take care of the sick and the dying, the hungry, the naked, the homeless- to be God’s love in action to the poorest of the poor.” This was a milestone for Mother Teresa’s life and her only possession was a white sari with blue stripes. She turned an abandoned Hindu temple into a home for the sick and dying of Calcutta. She, like Jesus worked with the outcasts of the society.
Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity have founded many centres throughout the world to help lessen people’s suffering. These include:
- Orphanages for babies and young children, who have been found in the street or have been brought to the centres from hospitals.
- Care settlements for those suffering from leprosy. Lepers are shunned by society in India; they are not allowed to work and their families evict many from their homes. Mother Teresa had villages built where lepers could live and be cared for in peace.
Since 1952 Mother Teresa and her fellow Missionaries of Charity began the work for which they have been famous ever since. Mother Teresa dedicated her life to the service of God and of people in need. She saw all the people as children of God and treated them as such. For Mother Teresa, the Christian emphasis on love was all-important. It was the foundation of her life and work she once said: “It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put into giving” her words echo the theme of the story of The Widow at the Treasury in Mark’s Gospel.
Mother Teresa sadly died in 1997 nut her work continues around the world in the community of nuns she founded, and she will never be forgotten.
Jesus said that there were certain qualities needed to go into the kingdom of God, these qualities are also needed to be a committing disciple:
- leave everything
- must have faith
- trusting
- humble
- childlike
- service
- obedient
- persecutions.
These were the qualities the that Jesus pointed out that the disciples had to have, Mother Teresa shows all of them.
She left everything to teach at a poor country with only her sari. She had very strong faith, and lived all her life following the word of the God. She trusted the word of God that Jesus preached and went on to do it herself. She was a humble person who helped everyone no matter what was wrong with them; they are all children of God. She was childlike, pure and honest. She left everything to dedicate herself to the service of God. She was obedient, she asked permission to establish the Missionaries of Charity. She never had direct persecutions but she was indirectly persecuted by all of those who aren’t Christian or those whose major concern is their social position and think it isn’t right to mix with the sick.
The nature of discipleship hasn’t changed for the truly committed but for those who aren’t able to give everything up it has been opened. There are alternative ways to be a disciple today, such as contributing as much as possible in schemes to lessen suffering around the world and in your own society. I believe that everyone has their own definition of the nature of discipleship- fighting against inequalities and injustice.
Words in total: 1,190