C. Come with me: Jesus has just stated that he had to go through great suffering; to be rejected by the Jewish leaders; and to be put to death and to rise again. The invitation to go with Jesus is an invitation to travel along the same road. Discipleship can involve suffering, rejection and death.
During Jesus’ ministry, the twelve disciples were sent out on a journey to spread the news of the kingdom of god. They were to go in different directions and in twos, for safety reasons. The disciples would have been called apostles at this point, because they were being sent to do his work. Before they went, Jesus gave them clear instructions.
‘Calling the twelve to him, he sent them out two and gave them authority over evil spirits. These were his instructions: Take nothing for the journey except a staff- no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them.’
They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.
Jesus’ instructions seem rather harsh. After all, the items he told them not to pack would have been considered essential for a long journey. One reason could be that Jesus wanted the disciples to travel light.
Another suggestion is that taking so little with them, the disciples would have had to learn to depend on god and the generosity of other people for everything. An important part of discipleship is the willingness to be dependent on God; to trust that he will provide through others.
Many would argue why would want to be a disciple if you have to live under such strict conditions. However Jesus indicates that the rewards benefit these limitations. He teaches the parable of the rich young man.
A stranger went to Jesus and asked the question, ‘What must I do to win eternal life?’ Jesus reminded him of the commandments, choosing the more practical ones in a somewhat random order, and the man replied that he had been obedient to these commandments since and possessed the qualities of goodness.
The only thing that this man needed was to become a follower of Jesus. As in the case of Peter, Andrew and the sons of Zebedee and Levi, the call is given, ‘Follow me!’ In this case, however, Jesus told the man what he must do in order to become a disciple. He must give up his considerable wealth and give it to the poor. This demand was too great for the man and he went away sad because he could not bring himself to renounce his wealth.
It was important to realize that Jesus is not teaching that each and every person who follows him must give up all he or she possesses in order to become a disciple. What he is saying is that discipleship is a matter of total commitment that involves demands. The demand may vary according to the person. Peter and the others had to give up the fishing boat and Levi his position as a tax collector.
For some people it has been the giving up family, parents or friends. For others it has meant giving up the security of a home in order to serve Jesus in foreign countries as missionaries, priests, doctors or teachers. The sacrifices made by people to become disciples are endless.
Even though there are some sacrifices to make, the rewards outweigh them.
The rewards of DISCIPLESHIP
1) A person relationship with God that enriches our lives.
2) A real family that shares in our faith and is a support and source of love and fellowship.
3) A faith that will strengthen us to face the challenge of daily life and the demands of modern world.
4) A strong and manful relationship in the family of God.
5) The promise of eternal life in union with God
This calling still exists today, through the word ‘vocation’. People who have a vocation to the priesthood, ordained ministry or religious orders, are required to turn their back on personal wishes and commit themselves to god regardless the cost. For some, as in the Roman Catholic church, this means taking a vow of celibacy. The Christian considers discipleship to be a vocation. Vocation, therefore is expressed through marriage, work and relationships with others.
An example of a modern disciple is Mother Teresa. She was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in 1910. When she as 18 years old , 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 sister Teresa. By becoming a nun, she had made the decision to give up all her possessions, her family and friends, and dedicate her life to the service of god.
A year later, in 1929, she was sent to Calcutta in India to teach at a school for girls. Although she was happy with her life and duties, Teresa was shocked by the poverty and disease, which surrounded her school. Then on a long train journey to Dareeling in 1945, she felt that she was being called by God to change the direction of her life:
“I realized that I had the call to take care of the sick and the dying, the hungry, the naked, the homeless- to be Gods love in action to the poorest of the poor.
In 1972 Mother Teresa and her fellow missionaries of charity began the work to acquire her first center for the desperately ill in Calcutta.
Mother Teresa and her fellow nuns gathered desperately ill people off the streets and brought them to Nirmal Hriday so that they could either be healed, or spend their last days surrounded by comfort and love. Since that time, more than 42,000 people from Calcutta have been taken to Nirmal Hriday.
Some Christian churches, notably the Roman Catholic Church, consider that the apostles are present today in the persons of their successors, the bishops of the church. They would also claim that the Pope is the successor to St.Peter, regarded as the first pope. The Church of England would also claim this unbroken succession. Other Christian denominations such as the Methodist church make no such claims regarding their ministers.
Once again, on a wider basis, the task of the Christian church in discipleship is the same as it was at the time of Jesus. Christians believe the church is the body of Christ and as such the members of that body are called to be the companions of Jesus, to preach his message of repentance, faith and reconciliation and to continue to fight against evil.
In essence the mission of the church remains the same as the twelve. Modern day disciples still go out to preach repentance. The missionary scene may well have changed in the twentieth century but the principle remains the same. All-Christian’s churches still work throughout the world:
-Caring for the sick
-Feeding the hungry
-Fighting against evil injustice in many countries; and preaching the message of repentance through medical education, social agricultural and even political ways.
Christian organizations, such as Christian Aid, Cafod and many others carry on, in modern ways, using modern methods, the mission of the twelve.
Trocaire is the Irish Catholic development agency established in 1973 by the Irish catholic bishops.
Trocaire works overseas, through local partners, promoting human development and social justice.
Our wide-ranging development programmes include food security programmes, the promotion of human rights and democracy , heath-care, leadership and skills training and education.
Christians today are generally not called upon to induce suffering or death in their discipleship, but it is important to remember that many have suffered martyrdom for their faith.
St maximilian Klobe, who exchanged places with a condemned Jew in the concentration camp and was starved along with his fellow inmates, before being fatally injected with carbolic acid; Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a minister of the confessing church of Germany, who was executed by the Nazis; and arch Bishop Romero, gunned down when he was at a prayer meeting. For each martyr well known, they are thousands who are little remembered but who suffered death because they were disciples of Christ.
Although few suffer martyrdom, disciples today do suffer for being a true follower, mainly through enduring
Ridicule- People might mock and insult you when you are trying to tell them of the good news.
Rejection- friends and acquaintances might turn away from and ostracize you, no longer seeking your friendship.
Humiliation- People might laugh at you and belittle you because of what your saying
Isolation- You might feel isolated and alone because other people do not want to hear about Jesus and his teaching.
Just like disciples in the time of Jesus where rewarded, so to can disciples today expect payment which he refuses through a remarkable promise made in Mark Chapter 10: There is no one who has given up home, brother or sisters, mother, father or children, or land for my sake and the gospel, who will not receive in this age a hundred times such as much-houses, brothers and sisters, mothers, fathers, children, and land-and persecutions besides; and in the age to come eternal life. (10:29-30)
This promise can be fulfilled in the fellowship the disciple finds in the church, which is the family of god. This fellowship will be rewarded at the end of time through eternal life in heaven with their heavenly saviour.
