Third of Year A
January 2011
Today we talk about discipleship.
‘As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew. …. He said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” At once they left their nets and followed him.’
‘He walked along from there and saw two other brothers, James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. He called them and immediately they left their boat and their father and followed him.’
‘Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.”
‘As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and asked him. “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, then come, follow me.’
Discipleship; becoming a follower of Jesus of Nazareth; being a Christian, always involves abandoning or leaving something or some one important to me.
At the very core of this leaving or abandoning is the abandoning of self. The removal of self and self interest from centre stage. Other people or things become more important to me than I myself. This is service. This is the heart of Christianity.
This is nothing new to us. After all what does marrying and rearing a family amount to if not this.
‘Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.’
Not only does one leave father and mother but even more traumatic, leaves control over ones own life, decisions, and ambitions.
The strange thing is that this leaving, this abandonment of self, this service to others, brings peace and fulfilment.
It is the same with discipleship of Jesus of Nazareth. The more you give up the more you gain.
Let us now relax, close our eyes and contemplate what discipleship might mean for me as I listen to this rendering of ‘the Lord’s Prayer’ by Bocelli.