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The Heart of Discipleship (cont'd)

By Thomas Morehead

Asking myself if all would know that I am a disciple of Jesus, given this criterion, I had to answer ‘most of the time they probably would not.’ How do I fix that? How do I, or any prospective disciple of Jesus, demonstrate the love that He commands us to have? At this point I would ask that the reader pause and refer to 1 Cor 13. Here St. Paul not only tells the reader of the importance of love (the greatest spiritual gift) but defines it as well. Reading further I came to 1 Jn 4, 20-21; “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

In Luke chapter 10, we read of a scholar who attempted to test Jesus. He asked what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus asks him what is written in the law and the man replies: “You shall love the Lord your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus replies that he has answered correctly, ‘do this and you will live’. The man then asks: “And who is my neighbor?” To which Jesus responds with the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Jesus’ parables were drawn from images of everyday life of the people of first century Palestine. For the most part they are told from the perspective of the poor and humble: farmers, shepherds, fishermen, and servants. The participants rarely get a glimpse of the life of the rich or powerful and then only from the outside. Jesus destroys the realism by introducing an entirely unexpected result, causing the hearer to rethink the status quo. At this time the road from Jerusalem to Jericho was ripe with highwaymen who lay and wait for easy prey. Those living in that area knew this and hearing that a lone traveler was attacked along the way would not have been at all shocking. However; the fact that a hated Samaritan performed such a charitable and loving act would have been not only shocking but unthinkable. The parable makes the point that the scholar has asked the wrong question. Rather than asking ‘who is my neighbor’ implying then who is worthy of my good deeds, the question should be ‘how do the people of God treat others?’ irrespective of whom they may be.

Jesus taught that to be His disciple one must not do the minimum but rather ‘go the extra mile’. To not kill is insufficient, one must not hate, not abide anger or vengeance, one must in fact love his or her enemy. The Church teaches respect for all human life and Jesus’ disciples must hear and profess this teaching. “This is how all will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Discipleship then is comprised of several positive proactive aspects of conduct. Disciples conform their lives to that of Christ. A disciple loves unconditionally all whom he or she comes in contact with. A disciple is called to be perfect just as his or her heavenly father is perfect (Mt 5, 48.). A disciple of Jesus is called to not just keep and live the faith but to profess it, confidently bear witness to it, spread it, acknowledging Jesus before all so that Jesus will acknowledge him or her before His heavenly Father.

Respect for all human life is the first step then in acknowledgement of Jesus before others. The Church also teaches that disciples will conform their lives to Christ’s in every aspect, resisting injustice whenever and wherever it is encountered, caring for those less fortunate than themselves whether they be ill, poor, or imprisoned. These things Jesus did. He not only taught, revealing His Father to us, but He performed works designed to ease the suffering of those less fortunate. He spoke out against, and actively resisted evil. Finally, Jesus prayed. At many critical points in the Gospels we find that Jesus stops to pray before acting, whether it is to ask for intervention or to praise His Father, He takes time to be in communion with God. The power of prayer cannot be overstated. We are always in the presence of God, pausing to acknowledge that fact, praising Him for the gifts we have and asking for His guidance is necessary. Jesus taught us this.

Everything Jesus said and did came from one perspective – Love. The resistance of evil, caring for the misfortunate, and especially His death on the Cross; all were done because He loved us. We must take this to heart; we must live this if we are to follow Him. “This is how all will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

To be a disciple of Jesus is to imitate His Love.