Wednesday: Jesus called out to them, Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people! Reflection: When Jesus went out to teach about the kingdom of God, He didn’t do it alone. Like most rabbis, Jesus had disciples whose job it was to learn from Him and carry on His teachings. But unlike most rabbis, Jesus recruited His disciples. He approached the unqualified, the unexceptional and the unschooled with two compelling words: Follow Me. And they did. And they changed the world. Think about that for a second. The men & women who changed the world were completely unexceptional in the eyes of the world. They shouldn’t have posed any kind of a threat to the religious, political and cultural establishments that controlled the world. But here we are 2,000 years later and all of those other establishments are history and Jesus’ movement is still changing the world. They were living proof that we don’t have to “get it together” or even “get it” to follow Jesus. It wasn’t until after Jesus’ death and the coming of God’s Spirit that the disciples became an unprecedented force for God’s kingdom here on earth. They called together a community like the world had never seen before. “Where before Jesus was there a movement that actively sought to include every single human being, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, status, income, gender, moral background, or education, to be loved and transformed?” (Who is This Man? page 131) I can’t think of one. Until Jesus’ community. It was a community with the calling to make God’s presence available to everyone through Jesus’ sacrifice. When persecutions scattered them, they took the good news of God’s kingdom with them. Rome had no idea how to classify them. Religion had always been political – the result of one’s culture, tribe or empire. Everyone had gods. But the idea of conversion to or choosing to devote one’s life to religion was wholly foreign to them. Many considered early Christians to be atheists because they did not submit themselves to the pantheon of the gods. Like Jesus, they submitted themselves in service to Him in service to each other. They met daily, sharing each others lives, and offering their homes and possessions for the community. They were outrageously impressive in their willingness to be unimpressive. A glass of water, a listening heart, a small kindness – they spent their lives devoting themselves to Jesus’ example and teachings. Christianity has always been practiced in groups. Its heart belongs to those who still find themselves changed by those two words: Follow Me. Prayer: Father, I don’t always do such a good job of following in His footsteps. Today I dedicate myself to following the best I can. In Jesus’ Name, amen.
Posted on: Wed, 23 Jul 2014 13:00:01 +0000
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