In the story of the boy with the Evil Spirit there is a contrast between the father and the disciples. In the story the father shows faith but the disciples lack faith, which is why they cannot heal the boy. Jesus tells the father, “…Everything is possible for the person who has faith.”(Mark 9:23) The father goes on to say “ I do have faith, but not enough. Help me to have more!” This is what the disciples should be as they lack faith. Here we are told that prayer is the key.
In Mark 9:33 Jesus asks his disciples what they had been arguing over. They do not respond, as they know what they had been arguing over was petty and stupid. They had been arguing over who was the greatest. Jesus goes on and says that the people who are seen as least important (the children) are in his eyes, the best.
In Mark 10:17-31 a man asks Jesus what must he do to receive eternal life. Jesus tells him follow the commandments and he says that he has obeyed them. The commandments involve not doing things like stealing and committing murder. Jesus tells him to do something, give up his riches. This was something he couldn’t do and Jesus goes on to say “ it is much harder for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God than it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.” The disciples were shocked because in those days people thought that those who were rich received their riches from God. Peter then says that he has left everything and followed him. Jesus replies by saying that what they have left behind, they will be rewarded it 100 times more. They will also receive eternal life and Jesus also says “But many who now are first will be last, and many now how are last will be first.”
James and John (Mark 10:35-45) ask Jesus “When you sit on your throne in your glorious Kingdom, we want you to let us sit with you, one at your right and one at your left.” Here they are asking Jesus if they can have the top places in the Kingdom of God. Jesus asks them “Can you drink the cup of suffering that I must drink?” James and John say yes but they do not understand what this means. Jesus tells them that they will drink the cup of suffering but it is not up to him where people are situated in the Kingdom of God. Jesus says to enter the Kingdom of God first you must be the slave of all. Also he says that his place on Earth was to serve and be served. In this story James and John have not understood discipleship. They might also think that Jesus will build a human Kingdom and so they ask if they can sit at his right and left side. Jesus tells them that his job is to suffer and the disciples must be ready to suffer as well. They should not be asking for the best jobs.
In the garden of Gethsemane the disciples are told by Jesus to keep watch while he goes to pray (Mark 14:32-42). When Jesus prays to God, Jesus shows fear and is terrified. Jesus asks God to take the cup of suffering away from him. Jesus comes back to the disciples to find them asleep and this happens three times in total. Here “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” The disciples want to obey Jesus by staying awake but they are physically tired. This event happens just after Peter promises never to leave Jesus. Jesus then realises that the time has come upon him and says, “Look, the Son of Man is now being handed over to the power of sinful men”. As Jesus is arrested the disciples leave him and run away. They are not mentioned again Mark’s Gospel after this except for Peter.
The last chapter in Mark’s Gospel tells of the church’s commission Jesus’ last instructions. It tells the disciples to go into the world and preach. Those who do this will be able to heal. They do this and we know this because the church is here today.
A Christian needs to have faith and needs to pray. Another thing Christians need is courage, believing that all you do is a sign of your calling. Christians help others and they can bring God’s love to others. Christians can spread the Gospel by becoming priests, ministers, nuns and monks. Christians are Christ’s helpers on Earth.
A Christian listens to the Gospel
- By reading it privately
- By joining the Christian Community in its Parish worship.
Once we have listened to God’s word we have to live out the Gospel values.
Christians’ values lives out Gospel values through truth, justice, love, respect, forgiveness, compassion, etc. An example of someone doing this is Mother Teresa. She established a new order of nuns, the Missionaries of Charity and with the Pope’s permission went to the streets of Calcutta. She worked there since 1952 until she died. She remembers her first experience when she helped someone in Calcutta. She brought the woman into the hospital and waited until she was treated.
Examples of how you can live in the Christian way, living out your call to discipleship are:
- By being a good son. By helping members of your family, this could be by carrying out chores and favours asked by your family.
- By being a good student. When in school you should try your best in your schoolwork. By spending time in class more efficiently and not being silly.
- By being a good friend. You can be a good friend by providing help or advice when it is needed.
There are 3 distinct ministries within Christianity particularly in the Catholic Church:
Religious Life: -
There are two different ways this can happen. People can live their religious in contemplative orders or apostolic orders. With contemplative orders this life is hidden and they spend their time working and praying e.g. monks. People living apostolic orders lead a public life and also do community work. Examples of this kind of people are nuns. Both of these ways of life make 3 specific vows to God, they are:
- Poverty
- Chastity
- Obedience
Priests: -
A priest is a man of God’s who is the servant of God’s people. He is an assistant to the Bishop who is the successor of the apostles whom Jesus chose and taught how to serve. They have many tasks to perform which are:
- To proclaim and preach the Gospel
- To consecrate the bread and wine offered at Mass
- To celebrate the sacraments in the parish
- To care for the needs of people in the parish, especially by showing people what they can do for each other.
Laity: -
Lay people are people who are not nuns, priests or monks. They help by doing things like reading in church, missionary work and teaching. They defend Jesus’ teaching through faith, hope, love and prayer. They can also help by helping those who live a life of crime and drugs as well as those who cannot help themselves like the homeless and the poor. Within the parish they can help by giving out communion, offering special skills like accounting or building. They can also help by providing a service like marriage counselling.
“Children can’t be disciples so they can’t be Christians either.”
I don’t agree with this statement but I will be giving points, which agrees and disagrees with this statement.
Children are able to become Christians if they are baptised, however this doesn’t mean that they are disciples. It is understandable that people say children cant be disciples because it will be harder for them to catty out tasks. Tasks like giving up everything and preaching to people. You wouldn’t expect a child to go out into the world preaching and living a life of poverty but there are other ways in which they can serve God. Lay people can be an example of this; they can carry out God’s work by reading in Mass. Also another reason why it is understandable is that people might not take them seriously. People could say that they are too young and so they won’ understand or cope. They could also say that children aren’t responsible or mature but who is to say at what age children are mature. The Catholic Church say that it is when you are confirmed, at the age 14/15 but the Orthodox Church confirms people at 8 days old. I don’t think that children can be disciples as they won’t be able to suffer like the disciples did. On the other hand Jesus did say that childlike qualities are needed to enter the Kingdom of God. At only the age of 12, the Bible tells of Jesus preaching. People say that God puts children on Earth for a reason. Children are the future.
In conclusion I think that this statement is incorrect in saying that children cannot be Christians, for someone to be a Christian they have to have faith and courage, which a child can have. Saying that children cannot be disciples is more reasonable as it is asking a lot for a child.