An example of courage is the woman who suffered from severe
bleeding. She believed that if she could just touch Jesus’ cloak, she would
be cured. She did so, and Jesus felt the power drain out of him. Her
bleeding stopped and Jesus asked who touched his clothes. The woman was
afraid and trembling but told him the whole truth. Jesus told her that her faith had made her well.
To illustrate the power of prayer, when Jesus healed a boy with an evil
spirit, he used prayer to do it. Afterwards, his disciples asked why they
were unable to drive the spirit out, and Jesus replied: “Only prayer can
drive this kind out, nothing else can.”
^
James and John asked Jesus if they could sit on his right and left hand in
the Kingdom of Heaven, making the other apostles jealous. Jesus called
them all together and said: “If one of you wants to be great, he must be the
servant of the rest, and if one of you wants to be first, he must be the slave
of all.” Jesus was trying to show them not be greedy and to look after other
people rather than thinking about themselves.” (Mark 10:35-45)
To teach his apostles humility, whenever they were arguing over who was the
greatest among the twelve, Jesus said; “Whoever want to be
first must place himself last of all, and be the servant of all.” Jesus was
telling them to stop being selfish and proud. (Mark 10:35-45)
People brought children to Jesus to touch, but the disciples scolded them. When Jesus became aware of this he was angry and said to the disciples: “Let the children come to me, and do not stop them because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” He added that people who did not receive the Kingdom of God like with the trust a child has would never enter it.
The price of being a follower of Jesus was to give up everything. He told
followers that if anyone wanted to follow him they must forget self, carry cross and follow him. For whoever wants to save his life he said will lose it, but
whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. It was a very
challenging call, which must have been frightening for his followers, as there
was a lot of opposition to the message of Christ.
Mark indicates the rewards of discipleship also;
Peter pointed out to Jesus that the apostles had left everything to follow
him and Jesus told him that they would be rewarded a hundred times more
for the things they had left behind, and said that many who were now first
would be last, and the last would be first.
An example of how materialism can be a hindrance to discipleship is when Jesus watched people dropping money into the temple treasury. Many rich
men dropped in a lot of money. Then a poor widow came along and dropped in two halfpennies. He told his disciples that the poor widow put in more in the
offering box than the others, because she put in all she had, but the rich
men put in what they had to spare.
Another very good example of this would be when:
A rich young man asked Jesus what he must do to receive eternal. Jesus
told him to obey the commandments, and he said he did. Jesus told him to
sell everything and give the money to the poor, and then come and follow
him. The gospel says he went away said because he was very rich. Jesus
told the disciples, in what has become a famous quote: “It is much harder
for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God than for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle.”
The disciples did not always succeed in doing what Jesus asked. Nearly all of them let him down to some extent - Peter betrayed him, others fell
asleep during the agony in the garden, James and John asked him to favour
them in heaven, and Judas sold him to the authorities for thirty pieces of
silver.
They were important because Jesus knew that he was going to die in a short
time we believe that it is important to recognise the strengths and weaknesses of the disciples because it can motivate us to be better people.
Religion Coursework A02
Explain how this teaching about discipleship might affect the life of a Christian today.
Even though times have changed, the basic message of Jesus was to Love God and love one another. He said don’t just love your friends, because even non-believers do that, you must love your enemies and do good to those who hate you. In todays terms, this means you shouldn’t discriminate against anyone because they are different.
Jesus was asked how many times we should forgive someone who has wronged us was it seven times? And he said in response Seventy times seven. In other words, we must always forgive. Nothing in the way the world has changed has affected the meaning of this command.
Just as Jesus called the twelve apostles to follow him, there are still callings
today. Some vocations are to the religious life. Even within that, there are
different callings. Some priests and nuns work on the missions, spreading
the good news of Christ’s gospels, others work in their own countries in
schools and hospitals, and others simply spend their lives praying for others
in monasteries and convents.
Married people can also have a vocation, to live as Christians and bring up
children with Christian moral values. They, and single lay people, can also be
called to take part in parish life, for example, as Eucharistic ministers,
readers, cantors, and youth leaders.
If Jesus came back today, I think he would associate with the so-called
outcasts of today’s society, just as he did two thousand years ago. For
example, homeless people, homosexuals, people with disease, drug addicts,
prisoners, people who are mentally ill.
Jesus’ disciples gave up their jobs, families and businesses to follow him. Today, people still give up these things and more, because we have more
material possessions nowadays, to do God’s work. Priests, monks and nuns in
orders still take vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. They also can be
moved around without any say in the matter.
Christian people often make great sacrifices to help others the way Jesus
told us to, by giving away money to charity, or organizing fundraising events,
or sponsoring children in the Third World, etc.
A martyr is someone who dies for their faith. Recently, a Catholic bishop from County Tipperary was murdered in the African country of Burundi, so even two thousand years after the start of many persecutions in Christian history, people are still dying because of their religion, though it isn’t as common as in Roman times.
Jesus said there were three costs to discipleship:
Forget yourself - put other people’s needs before yours. E.g. fundraising, Trocaire etc.
Carry cross - martyrs, as I’ve already explained, not giving in to peer pressure and doing the right thing.
Follow me – he’s asking you to follow the same route as he did, one of
rejection, suffering and death. E.g. Oscar Romero, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Martin Luther King.
In conclusion I think that the teaching of a disciple might affect the life of a Christian today because it showed that the disciples weren’t perfect by any means and we don’t have to be perfect either. However it gives us inspiration to do good.
Religion Coursework A03
Modern society makes it difficult to be a true disciple. Do you agree or disagree?
Yes, I think it does. Nowadays there are many evils and temptations which
weren’t there two thousand years ago, for example, people have a lot more
material possessions, and there is more of an obsession with making and
spending money.
People aren’t persecuted with death and torture so much any more, but
rather with the temptations of the world, like drugs, money, fast cars, an
easy life etc.
We do not have to preach the Good News like the original twelve apostles,
because where we live, in the Western world. Christianity is the main
religion. Now, the challenge to be a disciple is to live as a true Christian,
giving money to the poor in a materialistic society, to visit people in prison,
though they are often despised, to help the homeless, alcoholics, mentally ill
people, and those who find it hard to fit in.
Many people don’t have time for God any more. Some of them don’t even have time for Mass once a week for an hour on a Sunday. In years gone by, people did more voluntary work and charity work and took Sundays more seriously because it was a day of worship.
You could disagree that modern society makes it difficult to be a true disciple. There are modern day disciples like Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who went among the poorest of the poor in India, working with the despised, the sick and people rejected by everyone except her order of nuns. Mother Teresa inspired people all over the world.
Fewer and fewer young people are taking Mass seriously, but there are still
those who remain loyal, especially people who get involved in the church, like Eucharistic ministers, living out the final commandment of Mass, and parents
bringing up children in the faith.
We can be disciples in our lives simply by helping our friends and peers,
helping at home, giving time to the elderly, the homeless, etc, and showing
respect for others. By following the greatest commandment, love God and love your neighbour, the reward will be eternal life.
Jesus reassured us that we don’t have to be perfect, and that we can sin,
like the prodigal son, and be forgiven by our heavenly father, if we are sorry
for what we have done.
In conclusion, I do agree with that statement - modern society does make it
difficult to be a true disciple, but with determination, courage, faith, love, humility, trust in God and loyalty, this is possible because in my own experience there are a lot of temptations for young people especially. Turning down drugs for instance is showing true discipleship. That is my personal reason for why I agree with the statement because it is hard but it can be done.
