EPIPHANY 3A – Isaiah 9:1-4; Psalm 27:1, 5-13; 1 Corinthians 1:10-18; Matthew 4:12-23 – 27 January 2008 – A sermon given by The Rev. Peter A. Munson for St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, Boulder, Colorado

 

Being a Disciple of Christ - The Three R’s

 

What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? I believe there are at least three parts to being a disciple, and we can remember them because each of them has an association with the letter ‘r’.

 

RECOGNITION OF JESUS’ AUTHORITY OVER ME

 

First of all, to be a disciple, you have to recognize (accept/acknowledge) that Jesus has an authority over your life. Another way to put that is that Jesus has a legitimate call upon my life. There may be other people who have a legitimate call upon your life, too – people like your spouse, your children, your parents, your boss, your best friends. They have a call upon your life that is legitimate, meaning that if we ignore their call upon our lives, the relationship might become imperiled. If I stand up in a baptism or confirmation service and say that I accept Jesus as my Savior, and I promise to follow and obey him as my Lord, then I am recognizing that Jesus has authority over me. In fact, for me to call him Lord, I am saying that he has ultimate authority over me.

 

What Jesus calls me to do and be, what Jesus thinks, what Jesus does – all of these things – become more important to me than the example of family members and what my family members think, more important that the example of the leaders of my government and what those leaders think, more important than the example of the various teachers in my life and what those teachers think.

 

Jesus went up to Peter and Andrew and James and John and interrupted their lives, spoke to them just as they cast the nets, right as they were mending the nets, and said “Follow me.” If Jesus were just an average Joe, they would have said, “Who do you think you are talking to? We’ve got work to do, families to take care of. We can’t just drop everything and follow you.” But that isn’t what they did. Because they saw a certain something in Jesus. They saw in him, I suppose, someone who could change their lives, in ways that they wanted their lives to be changed. They recognized his authority. They recognized that he had a legitimate call on their lives, that he was in a unique position, with a unique authority to say “follow me”, so they listened to his words, mulled them over for a few seconds, and said, “Yes. This is the guy that we’ve been waiting for. This is the guy we will follow.”

 

Paul had to remind the Corinthians that it was not the person who told them about Christ who was the final authority - their Lord. They didn’t belong to Paul or Apollos or Peter or Chloe. They did not belong to Father Reg or Father Gerry or Mother Lou or Mother Pat or Father Peter. They belonged to Christ. You belong to Christ.

 

To be a disciple of Jesus means that every day, when we wake up, we say, in one way or another, “Lord, I’m seeking your will for my life. Speak, for your servant is listening. What do you want me to learn today? What do you want me to do today? Show me how to be more like you today.” He has a call upon our lives. It is an ongoing call. We must continue to listen, because he continues to guide us. He continues to be our Lord, year in and year out.

 

RESPONDING TO GOD’S CALL

 

I’ve already hinted at the second ‘r’. Once we recognize that Jesus has a call upon our lives, we respond. It is not enough to just say, “I believe in you, Lord Jesus. I believe you are the Christ, the one sent to reconcile us back to God.” That is only the beginning. Discipleship means following. It means going where Jesus went when he walked this earth, and going where he calls us to go now. It means loving as he loved. It means setting aside regular time to be with God, as he did. It means worhipping with the people of God, as he did. It means reaching out to those in need, and offering the healing presence of God to others, through the power of the Holy Spirit, as he did.

 

We respond by following Jesus' teachings and Jesus' practices. As a disciple of Christ, I am not required to follow anyone else. In fact, sometimes, as disciples of Christ, we come up again a clear choice. For example, if I am ever put in a situation where I am forced to choose between following the teachings of Christ and following the teachings of the government, between following the ways of Christ and following the ways of my peers, between treating others the way Christ treated others or treating others in a way that the people around me treat others, if there are disparities, if the two options in front of me are not aligned, then - as a disciple of Christ - I am called to choose the path of Christ.

 

To borrow from the title of a wonderful book by Dietrich Bonhoffer, there is a cost to discipleship. We are called to live in a certain way, even if others think we are ridiculous, even if others see us as fools for Christ. It's not just what you believe. It's also how you live.

 

THE RESULTS OF FOLLOWING CHRIST

 

Finally, there are results associated with being a disciple of Jesus. Jesus said, "You will know them by their fruits. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit... Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom... but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven." (Matthew 7:16-21)

 

The results associated with being a disciple of Christ are two-fold. First of all, the disciple is changed. Those who follow Christ and live by the power of the Spirit will produce the fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

 

Second, the disciple of Christ makes a different in our world. A disciple is one through whom God's light shines. A disciple is one who serves, who loves her neighbor as much as she loves God and loves herself. And a disiciple does not keep the good news of Christ to herself, but shares the good news with others. "Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ? I will, with God's help." (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 305) A disciple of Christ is involved in loving and serving others in Jesus' name, and proclaiming Christ - that is, pointing others to Christ. These are the results, the fruits, of being a disciple.

 

CONCLUSION

 

These, then, are "The Three R's of Discipleship." We recognize that Jesus has a call upon our life, as Lord and Savior. We respond to his call, and strive to follow him, and do the things that he did. And our following brings results. We are transformed by his love and through our relationship with him, and we reach out and respond to others around us, bearing fruit - fruit that brings life to others. This is radical discipleship. It is a lifetime journey with Jesus, where we are transformed, and where we help Jesus establish his kingdom here on earth. This is our callling. This is why we have been called together - at this time and in this place. And the words of The Dismissal continue to ring in our ears as a reminder. "Go in peace to love and serve the Lord." (The Book of Common Prayer, p. 366)