Commentary: What kind of discipleship?

I have written before about Jesus’ total commitment to those who are His followers and disciples, writes Rev Sydney Maitland. This commitment is expressed in all four gospels, and in Matthew, Mark and Luke it is in the same account of how His natural family wanted to see Him and He pointed out that His real family were those who obeyed the Word of God and put it into practice. The context of this was the Law of Moses as He was busy reasserting it – principally in terms of faithfulness before God and mercy in dealings with their neighbours.

For us, following the Word of God comes in terms of fulfilling His commands as passed to us in the gospels. And yes, His demands are exacting. In effect, anything that comes short of the Glory and Holiness of God is sin. It is the arrow that misses the mark and the spot, tear or blemish, of any size or prominence, on the plain white sheet.

But then we start where we are and in baptism we are made members of His church and incorporated into the Corporate Body of Christ – a spiritual union of all believers, expressed in the life of the church which itself has to contend with pressures to compromise with outlook and fashions of the world in which it is placed.

And we remember that Jesus did not die to create a church but to save the whole of humanity from its alienation from God. The church is the result of that atoning self-sacrifice and not a pre-condition for it. It is a response to it, rather than a foundation for it.

All the gospels give us teaching on the Things of God and yet some parts are specific in showing us what that means. It is there in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew and the Sermon on the Plain in Luke. It is also there in Jesus’ encounters and meetings, and in His farewell discourses in John. In all the gospels it is there in His parables, which are far more about being merciful to one another than about judging others.

Now we find that this kind of obedience is more a journey than a shopping list. We become aware of different aspects at different times, as we respond to the world around us and as we become more sensitive to our own sins and compromises with the Love and Mercy of God. We find more and more that love is always about the other person, and not about ourselves. It is their needs and our ability to meet them. It is there in our willingness of forgive and to let go of the memories of past hurts and traumas.

But it is also there in our meetings with Jesus Himself, as He comes to us. He is there in our prayers and when we speak to Him, He really does answer back. Maybe not at length but definitely at a depth and a penetration to compensate. We may pray in weakness and need: He replies in strength and authority, all tied up in His total self-giving love. In this sense there is no other kind of love worth speaking of.

When He says, ‘Abide in Me’ He means it. When He says that He is the vine and His Father is the vine-dresser then He is pointing to us that our lives may also be pruned in order to make the fruitful even more so. It is always to edify and improve – to increase His harvest in our lives.

To belong to Him is to find ourselves in Him and not apart from Him. It is to make Him the starting point in our lives and not just an afterthought. And yes, that also applies when things are difficult and the way before us is unclear. It leads us through times of disappointment and pain. It allows us to pour ourselves out for Him and to recognize when we are being poured out in turn.

But then in John, the first mighty sign of Jesus was changing water into wine, in an unbelievable abundance and to the joy and celebration of all.

That is the kind of belonging He wants us to know as we follow Him. That is the kind of discipleship He wants us to know and follow.

Every blessing,

Sydney Maitland