Fr. Jonathan Phillips Pastor of St. Michael’s Catholic Church, Levelland
When we think about the disciples of Christ written in scripture we are faced with something greater than a simple movement. Rather, we acknowledge an initiative not taken by mankind but rather by God. Christianity has existed on the premise of following Jesus. And if following Jesus is an essential part of living the Christian life, then the obvious question that presents itself is, “What does it take to be a disciple of Jesus Christ?”
In the sixteenth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus outlines what it takes to be his disciple. He says to his small band of followers, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” From this response we can see the true cost of discipleship. Jesus asks for three things - to deny ourselves, to take up our cross, and to follow him. First, we must deny ourselves. What does it mean to deny ourselves? Well we live in a world that is sometimes centered on the self. Even our culture is geared towards selfcenteredness. A preoccupation of self is part of the normal human tendency and experience. And yet, Jesus’ invitation to be one of his disciples involves something entirely selfless – self- denial. Keep in mind, that Jesus is not condoning a negative view of self, nor is he encouraging depression. Rather he is asking that we sometimes have to say “no” to ourselves. We have to be willing to say no to our fleshly desires in order to live for something else – or should I say someone else – outside of ourselves. By saying “no” to ourselves, we are seeking to say “yes” to Jesus. The process of self-denial can at times be painful, but it is fruitful. For example, a mother that denies herself sleep to stay up caring for her sick daughter is showing love through her sacrifice. A soldier that risks his life on the battlefield for his country shows love and care for his nation by defending the freedom it enjoys. A son that foregoes his wants to take care of his aging parents shows love through self-sacrifice. The times we say “no” to ourselves are fraught with opportunities to bear fruitful love through self-sacrifice. Even Jesus says, “No one has greater love that this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Real love is more than an emotion or feeling, because feelings come and go. True love always entails sacrifice.
The second requirement is to take up our cross. When Jesus invites us to take up our cross, he is inviting us to die to ourselves. The cross was an instrument of torture and death employed by the Romans for the worst criminals. And although Jesus was innocent of any crime, he was condemned to die by crucifixion. But he was not consumed by death. Death had no mastery over him. Instead, he transformed this instrument of death into an instrument of our salvation. That is an incredible thing to think about! Through his own death we are given access to eternal life. And Jesus invites us to also imitate him by taking up our crosses. Keep in mind, we are not earning our way into heaven by our sacrifices. Rather, Jesus is showing us the better way to love through self-sacrifice and dying to ourselves. In the words of Pope John Paul II, “Love is the condition for following him, but it is sacrifice that is the proof of that love.” Jesus has a high standard for true and authentic discipleship. And taking up our cross is not optional. When we experience suffering or disappointment, it becomes an opportunity for real prayer. When we can take our sufferings to Jesus on the cross, there we find Him giving us strength to endure whatever may come our way. It is an exercise of trust in God. When we die to ourselves, we open a door that allows Christ to live in us. We can say with St. Paul, “I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; in so far as I live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me” (Gal. 2:19-20).
Finally, Jesus gives us the third requirement for discipleship, “follow me”. To follow Jesus, we have to allow Jesus to lead us. In a way this does involve surrender. How do we surrender to Jesus? In what ways do you, as the reader, see Jesus leading you? These are important questions to think about. One prophet in the Old Testament that suffered in his ministry was Jeremiah. Jeremiah is famous for saying, “You duped me O Lord, and I let myself be duped.” Jeremiah’s personality shines out in the scriptures, and we experience in his writings his frustration, anger, and suffering. Jeremiah is given a very difficult task – to announce the doom that is coming to Israel. The threat of Babylonian invasion caused terror from Jeremiah’s contemporaries and countrymen. Jeremiah was given a difficult message to preach, announcing the Word of God in the midst of a people who do not want to hear it. As followers of Christ, we can relate to Jeremiah’s struggle. As the world is becoming more secular, religion is seen as outdated and irrelevant to the modern era. So, there is opposition to religious perspectives. If you try talking about how your life should change in response to religion, you may readily be faced with opposition. If you take a stand on respect for human life from conception to natural death, or on moral behavior based on God and his commandments, you may quickly sense mounting opposition. Like Jeremiah, we can relate to the difficulty of witnessing to the things of God in the face of opposition. And yet despite all this negativity and difficulty in taking on the ministry of preaching the word of God, we see how God’s intention wins out in the internal struggle that Jeremiah experiences. In the twentieth chapter of the Book of Jeremiah, we read Jeremiah’s words, “I say to myself, I will not mention him, I will speak in his name no more. But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it” (Jer. 20:9). Jeremiah feels compelled by God to deliver this difficult message to the people of Israel. Jeremiah describes this internal conviction as burning fire in his heart. Through this beautifully imagery that illustrates the grace of God working like a burning flame, the servant of God draws all those who hear the message towards the love of God. Like Jeremiah, if we want to be followers of Christ, we too must have that internal conviction that only comes from God, a conviction that leads us to witness to the truth of who Jesus is in the world.
During his public ministry, Jesus revealed his heart to his closest of disciples. Often, he would speak in parables to the public, but to his disciples he would reveal their inner meaning. And so, we can see how Jesus invites us into close relationship with him. If Jesus’ invitation to be true disciples seems demanding, it is only because there is a lot at stake. God’s ways are above the ways of the world. Jesus witnesses to this during his passion when he says, “My kingdom is not of this world” (John. 18:36). At the heart of Jesus’ invitation to authentic discipleship, there is the invitation to bear witness to the Kingdom of God.