2 Peter 2:1-9
Luke 16:10-17
Last week Jesus' parable of the wheat
and the weeds questioned whether we could - or should - know a disciple or a potential disciple on sight. In our determination to keep out those less-than-desirable
cultural influences, it is likely we would do much more harm than good not only
to disciples who are in early spiritual development but also to future
disciples who might be interested to know more about our Holy Father and His
mercy in Christ - until they discover Christians are not always disciples
themselves.
The mission of the Church, however, is
not to spot disciples! As Christians baptized into the Church and
the Eternal Covenant we cannot escape the "Great Commission" from
Jesus; our mission to "make
disciples". But to "make
disciples", as pointed out last time, is pretty broad and somewhat
vague. So if we have no real concept of
what a disciple is, or what discipleship is supposed to look like, how can we
know we have succeeded in "making disciples"?
Is our success measured by receiving new
members, restoring fallen-away members, celebrating professions of faith, or
increasing our giving? Yes, yes, yes ...
and then some! As much as these are good
and necessary practices of discipleship, trying to quantify discipleship must be approached carefully because "quantity"
suggests a goal which can be reached. I
don't think discipleship can be defined strictly
by such quantitative terms because discipleship must never be measured in terms
of how we can know we're "finished" - because we never will be.
The challenge, however, cannot be
brushed aside. A fellow pastor from
another denomination was sharing some thoughts not long ago, general notions,
nothing special or specific. He was
telling me about a Bible study he leads on a university campus in the town
where he serves, and he mentioned this one particular young woman who never
missed a study session. She faithfully
studied the lessons, she was enthusiastic, and she was always prepared for the
study sessions with all kinds of questions - not to challenge but for clarity's
sake. Clearly she had a desire to learn
more about The Lord and was willing to put in the time and effort. However, the brother pastor pointed out she
was not yet "saved".
I asked brother pastor how he could know
something of such depth and spiritual intimacy about another person and what
difference it might make. Understand he
comes from a tradition almost completely foreign to the tradition I grew up in,
the tradition I pretty much ascribe to even now as a United Methodist. I'm pretty sure I know what he meant, but I began
wondering if it is possible to know what a "saved" person looks like
as opposed to a disciple - or if there can even be a difference. Jesus said, "If you hold to My
teachings, you are my disciples" (John 8:31). This seems to
suggest to us that if we faithfully read and then put into practice The Lord's
"teachings", we are disciples in the truest sense.
The distinguishing difference, I think,
is in what a person says (the
so-called 'sinner's prayer' or an appropriate Creed or an officially prescribed
Confessional Prayer) and what a person does
(study the Scriptures in community with other disciples, for instance).
We assume too much in Christianity, and
there is a certain level of arrogance that comes with these assumptions. So when we assume anything, we take too much for granted. We assume others know we are
"Christians" because we are "good people" - at least by our
own standards. We forget there are
scores of persons in our own neighborhoods who have heard of Christianity in a
very general sense, but they know very little about the religion apart from the
behavior and practices of known Christians. We always hope they see only the good stuff -
and there is much good stuff to see! - but we cannot ignore the reality that they
see, and probably notice more, the less-than-holy stuff.
The goodness they need to see, the
goodness that offers hope to a hopeless world goes far beyond just being a
"good ol' boy" or a fine, upstanding Christian woman, both of which
are based strictly on subjective
regional, cultural, or individual standards. I have met and have known some decent, moral
atheists, agnostics, and Muslims who are clearly not "disciples" of
Jesus.
Based on their culturally subjective
moral standards and charitable hearts (that which I could clearly see) of these
non-Christians, however, I have a hard time believing these good and decent
folks have flat-out rejected Messiah Jesus or His moral teachings. In fact I think sometimes these folks on the
"outside" can see what is "inside" more clearly than we who
have been inside most of our lives. So
what they see, perhaps, is what they are rejecting.
Jesus did indeed tell the Pharisees in Luke's Gospel that "God knows your hearts"
(Luke 16:15) even though they
were clearly putting on outward airs, but Jesus also warned His disciples about
false prophets who will be "known by their fruits" (Mt 7:16); that is, whether they bless or
curse by their actions. The Lord does
indeed know what is within one's heart but since the "abundance of the
heart comes from the mouth" (Luke
6:45), it is more difficult than we imagine to pull the wool over another
person's eyes.
Moses spoke to Israel: "You
must observe [The Lord's statutes and ordinances] diligently, for this will show
your wisdom and discernment to the peoples who ... will say, 'Surely this great
[people of The Lord] is a wise and discerning people!" (Deut
4:6)
Peter made a clear distinction between
Lot and the people of Sodom and Gomorrah as a matter of which human practices
are "godly" and which are not (2
Peter 2:7-8). Jesus also points out
that human choices can and will be a determining factor in what will be
entrusted to us later, that we can make a choice of what or Whom we will love
and devote ourselves to - as a matter of our own choices - in keeping
with the Moral Law or in violation of that Divine Law (Luke 16:10-17).
Even though Scripture study is a very
good start for a disciple (in fact, maybe it is the only real start - otherwise, how would they know whom they are
following?), discipleship is much more than simply reading the Bible just as
justification before The Lord must mean more to us than memorization of a few
select Bible verses, a particular prayer, or a creed - or just being a
"good person". All these practices
have their places in spiritual development but if they never become innate to
our being as the people of The Lord, we cannot claim them as
"attributes"; characteristics of whom we are or choose to be.
Practices, good or bad, are habits; they
are things we do. These can be good
practices, as the many means of grace are good and necessary toward growing in
faith and in love; but unless or until these practices bear fruit worthy of the
Kingdom, they remain mere practices with no discernable value.
An attribute, on the other hand, is a
characteristic of our being determined by the choices we make. Discipleship, then, is in deliberately
choosing intentional development of these attributes
for the purpose of learning to emulate
Jesus, to become more and more Christ-like with every thought and with every
choice, and taking nothing for granted - ESPECIALLY The Lord's mercy!
When we learn to take Divine Mercy for
granted, we take the Church, the Lord, our neighbors, our spouses, and yes,
even those we perceive as enemies for granted.
We assume too much as "given" when in reality, we have spiritual
choices to make every single day; choices between what pleases us against what
pleases the Lord. These choices are not always synonymous; "for
what is prized by human beings is an abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15).
In order to "make disciples",
then, we must first understand discipleship on terms well established by Jesus. The enduring mercy of The Lord can and will
justify us before The Lord, but only we can choose discipleship - not to earn
Divine Favor but to make this Mercy known.
All this comes from a heart flowing with gratitude, a grateful heart
that assumes nothing and therefore takes nothing for granted. It is as I have shared about prayer and being
in mission: we cannot know how important mercy really is until we practice mercy ourselves.
It is often said we do not really
appreciate something until that something is no longer available to us. Well, it is a little hard to think our Lord
would withdraw His favor from His people - yet even conventional (human) wisdom
can acknowledge how easily we take all that is good and right for granted. For it is truly as Job had observed: "The Lord gives and the Lord takes
away" (1:21).
Before we can begin to make disciples
(and we must), we must first become disciples ourselves. Unlike American Express, church membership
has no "privilege" except that of serving our Lord by serving our
neighbors. We can find it within
ourselves to do this with glad hearts, however, only when we remember our Lord having
served us ("I came not to be served, but to serve", Matthew 20:28). And He has - by His own attributes of mercy. So must we - by embracing His attributes as
our own. Amen.
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