Greetings my friends in God

Recently in a conversation we were discussing the challenges of being a follower of Christ in our day and age. The person brought up the question, ‘How do I become a better follower of Christ?’ Basically, asking how to be a disciple today. The individual noted how they were wrestling on how it was described in Luke’s Gospel at the end of Chapter 9. Interesting as this section often gets named as ‘The Demands of Discipleship.’ A tough nut indeed as who in their right mind responds well to any type of demands placed upon them.  

The demands mentioned in Luke are threefold. First is a willingness to be itinerant, not set in one place but moving: ‘Foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’  Second, a radical shift of one’s familial obligations to be an evangelist, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ And third, a shift in social norms of bidding farewell to be a follower, ‘I will follow you Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’ Indeed, very demanding statements to become a follower of Jesus, both then and even now.

Life in Christ, often demands of us to radically change things up on occasions. Often these occasions are short notice and others much longer periods of discerning and preparing for changes and new directions. Being a disciple then and now still places on us how we choose to respond. We respond by discerning what we are willing or not willing to do. It requires us to risk being honest with ourselves, with others and with God. Often our desires to follow raise up our fears of what we are we truly willing to let go of, as the adage ‘Let go and let God,’ thus taking a risk. In our current ministry of partnership, we are indeed realizing the demands and discerning our risks as followers of Christ. Discipleship then and now demands us to discern the risks and whether we are willing and able to move in unfamiliar ways and directions guided by the Spirit.

Discipleship is demanding, yet in our faithful response to follow Christ we place our trust in our assurance of our faith: ‘Our assurance as Christians is that nothing, not even death, will separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.’ (BCP, 862).

Peace

Fr. Doug