This Sunday begins the longest of the liturgical seasons of the Christian year – Pentecost. And you’ll find that the lectionary writers use it to tell the stories of Jesus’ life and ministry. In today’s Gospel reading, we find a rather curious experience of Jesus with three would-be disciples. Through it we look at the question of what it means to be a disciple.
The first man Jesus met on the road told Him that “he would follow Him wherever He went.” The second man was called by the Master and answered: Let me go and bury my father.” The third man said: “Lord I will follow you, but first let me say farewell to those at my home.” Al three men were rejected as disciples by Jesus. To see why, picture the scenes in your mind’s eye.
The first man came to Jesus with zeal and enthusiasm. He would follow Jesus wherever He led him! But Jesus tells him about the loneliness of discipleship. Here was a man who had not considered the demands of discipleship. He was carried away with the moment like Paul’s convert, Demas, who endured for a time and then forsook Paul “having loved this present world.” Even today, there are those who stay with the Church for a while until it makes demands on them or takes an unpopular position and they are gone.
Now picture the second man, Jesus said: “Follow me.” The answer came back: “Let me go and bury my father.” Here was someone concerned with the traditions of religion. In that time, tradition considered the act of burying ones’ father a scared duty. But consider this: “Opportunity only knocks once.” Every situation is critical and a moment missed will not return a second time. Our second person faced a critical situation and turned it aside.
Look now at the third man. This may be the person with whom today’s busy people can most likely identify with! His answer is familiar: “Well, I’ll follow you, but first let me say good-bye to the folks back home.” That’s code for: Let me take care of important business at home and I’ll consider your offer tomorrow!” I’ll follow you, but on my terms! How close to home does that come? Our lives today are changing so fast and in so many ways, it makes our heads spin! We say: “If the service isn’t too long, I’ll be in Church” or “If the meeting won’t take much time, I’ll attend” or “If it doesn’t cost too much, I’ll give.”
Here we’ve seen what discipleship does not mean. It does not men blind zeal for a moment. It does not mean thinking about social graces or tradition first. It does not mean thinking only on your own terms. So, what does discipleship mean? What must it mean is we are to follow Jesus?
First, it means willingness to serve. The whole life and ministry of Jesus was about service. Wherever Jesus went, He found people who wanted Him to heal them; teach them; counsel them. He did all these things. St. Paul, by his own admission in the Letter to the Romans, “the least of the disciples” call himself “a slave of Christ.” Discipleship is service.
Next, discipleship involves denial of self. By this I don’t mean dressing in rags and living the life of a recluse! Far from it. I do mean what Jesus meant that we are not to have ourselves as the center of our lives. Nor are we to have the pursuit of pleasure, money, power, or anything else less than God Himself at our center. The self-centered life is easy to lead! By doing so, we can escape relationships with others. We can avoid some pain; some stress; some inconvenience. We can avoid criticism because we never show who we really are. We can show others only what we want them to see. We can remain respectable and acceptable. The truth is: Discipleship is loving others.
Finally, and probably most important, discipleship can be summed up in three words: Discipleship is costly.
What the three would-be disciples found was that they had to count the cost. What would following Jesus be worth to them in the long run? This is the question that is put to each of us today as we walk our journeys of faith. What will it cost me? How do I need to be different?
The great German Theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, was an educator, a pastor, and a martyr under the Nazis in 1945. Much of his writing was done from prison camps in which he found himself. His writings are concerned almost entirely with a living definition of discipleship that is still good today. Bonhoeffer wrote: “Discipleship means adherence to Christ and because Christ is the object of that adherence it takes the form of discipleship . . . Christianity without the living Christ is inevitably Christianity without discipleship and Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ.”
Now look back at our would-be disciples. The first is to come out of one’s old situation and focus life on living in Christ. It is this step that makes faith possible. It is, in fact, a “leap of faith” because it involves risk. Out of this comes the adherence to the call of Jesus and the impetus for service, giving, forgiving, and loving.
So it is that from the story of three would-be disciples, we see what discipleship must mean. It means accepting Jesus’ call on His terms and risking the cost. To be a Christian is to be a disciple and there is no other way!
Source: © The Rev. Peter Groschner, July 17, 2016. Luke 10:38-42. Reprinted with permission from the author.