Discipliship

As August comes to a close and Labor Day approaches, many families will be transitioning to a new schedule. Once again, life will center on the discipline of catching the school bus, attending extracurricular activities, and completing homework. Students who have kept their minds engaged with reading and other mental activities during the summer months may find the transition easy. For others, re-establishing mental habits and recalling what was learned last year will require a few weeks of adjustment. The annual rhythm of the school year and the relaxation of the summer months recall the words of Ecclesiastes, that there is an appointed time for every affair under the heavens: to plant and uproot the plant, tear down and build, mourn and dance, be silent and to speak (Eccl 3: 1-8).

 

Unlike school, Christian discipleship is a year-round commitment. Historically, a disciple of art, science, or another craft did not stop by the master’s house for a few hours each day merely to learn a new skill. Disciples lived and slept under the master’s oversight, learning every aspect of the livelihood that made the master so good at what he did. As an apprentice, the disciple of any trade would serve his teacher so that he could learn within the context of everyday life.

 

The disciples of Jesus followed him year-round, continuously, and wherever he went. They were not there to study theology, but to live it. This lived experience helped them receive the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and bring the Good News to all four corners of the earth.

 

Is our discipleship any different? Discipleship cannot be mere knowing about him; to be a disciple is to grow in knowledge of the Lord by living with him. We come to know who Jesus is by journeying with him and encountering him in our victories and weaknesses. Through our daily encounters with him, we acquire what Saint Paul calls “the mind of Christ.” Possessing the mind of Christ gives us the insight to judge and embrace all things as Christ does. How do we live out the demands of Christian discipleship? Some tangible means include prayer, a strong moral life, and fulfilling the obligations set before us. Beyond these, Saint Luke offers three interior dispositions indispensable for discipleship.

 

The first is to prefer Jesus above family and even one’s own life. The first commandment in the Decalogue requires that we place nothing above God in this life or the next. Jesus says: “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). Jesus’ use of the word hate was an idiom meant to place these things second to the highest good, God. We love family, community, nation, and all that is good, but the disciple loves them in and through Christ, who deserves our ultimate loyalty. To love him with our heart, mind, soul, and strength is the greatest commandment. 

 

Disciples of Jesus also have a deep affinity for the cross and for its meaning in Jesus’ life and in our own. Jesus said to the crowd: “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27). We all have burdens to bear. The question is how well we will bear them. Jesus prayed to his Father that the Father’s will, not his own, be done. Disciples of Jesus learn to set aside their own desires and needs through daily sacrifice so that God will be glorified. In doing so, we participate in the life of Christ, and the mind of Christ becomes our own.

 

Lastly, disciples of Jesus live in the world but not of it. When Satan offered Jesus the world and asked him to worship him, Jesus did not say it wasn’t his to give. He responded that we are to worship God alone. Discipleship demands detachment from material goods. This does not mean we are to live in poverty; rather, it requires an inner freedom that does not let “stuff” define our existence. Recall the man who asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. After truthfully saying that he had been fulfilling the commandments, Jesus offered him the greatest opportunity ever, to sell what he had for the poor and then follow him (Luke 18:18-23).

 

Wherever we may be in life, whether returning to school, preparing to bring in the harvest, preparing for a vacation, or settled in a health care facility, schooling never ends, and our discipleship is with the Lord.