Following Jesus
A clear theme arising in this year's Polity Conference of the General Assembly (the name of the annual gathering of Presbyters and Stated Clerks from all the presbyteries and synods in the denomination) is DISCIPLESHIP.
The working definition that is forming is that a disciple is one who engages the world with the self-emptying compassion and radical hospitality of Jesus.
The further understanding is that discipleship is to be practiced individually and communally--i.e., individuals who claim to be followers of Jesus should live like Jesus, as should the congregations and governing bodies to which they belong.
Too often discipleship gets limited to the first step--awakening to the saving grace found in Jesus, realizing and claiming it for your own life. Yes, that is the first step, but it is only the beginning. Moreover, that awakening can happen in a myriad of ways--from a gradual growth into faith to a sudden interruption that immediately alters one's life. However it happens, it is not the end of the process.
Also too often the next step is written in purely moralistic terms. Following Jesus becomes adherence to a rigid code of moral behaviors, basically rewriting the 632 commandments of the Torah into behavioral terms. Usually it's a lot less than 632, but very clear in drawing lines between those in and those out, making things black and white clear on good and bad, generally still focused solely on individual behavior with no real thought of engaging the community beyond judgmentally.
A close reading of scripture reveals that Jesus himself worked from a much different approach.
First, Jesus reduced the Torah to two commandments--love God with one's whole being and love one's neighbor as oneself. In other words, obedience is far more than simple rule keeping. It is grounded in and formed by love. Jesus also adapted rules to fit a context--hence all the battles over the Sabbath. Since living by love is the aim, some rules are kept some of the time, others all of the time, and some are abandoned if it is more loving not to keep them. The rules are never meant to add to exclusionary practice within the community, but to destroy exclusivism in favor of being more and more inclusive. The rules should be guides and practical wisdom for the actual practice of love.
Second, we see, then, that confessing Christ really is only an introductory item. What will matter far more deeply is the embodiment of Christ in the follower's life. That will be present as the follower meets the world as Jesus met the world. Jesus turned no one away. Jesus emptied himself to make all others full. Jesus healed by invoking the presence of God to wipe away all judgments, restoring the outcast to home.
The message coming from the leaders of our gathering is clear and distinct--if the church is to be relevant, it will counter all within the world that divides, belittles, diminishes, or excludes human beings from the fellowship of Christ. It will counter all that dims anyone's sense that they are indeed a child of God. It will prepare a place at the table for everyone and anyone without exception or qualification.
May we have the will to do so.
The working definition that is forming is that a disciple is one who engages the world with the self-emptying compassion and radical hospitality of Jesus.
The further understanding is that discipleship is to be practiced individually and communally--i.e., individuals who claim to be followers of Jesus should live like Jesus, as should the congregations and governing bodies to which they belong.
Too often discipleship gets limited to the first step--awakening to the saving grace found in Jesus, realizing and claiming it for your own life. Yes, that is the first step, but it is only the beginning. Moreover, that awakening can happen in a myriad of ways--from a gradual growth into faith to a sudden interruption that immediately alters one's life. However it happens, it is not the end of the process.
Also too often the next step is written in purely moralistic terms. Following Jesus becomes adherence to a rigid code of moral behaviors, basically rewriting the 632 commandments of the Torah into behavioral terms. Usually it's a lot less than 632, but very clear in drawing lines between those in and those out, making things black and white clear on good and bad, generally still focused solely on individual behavior with no real thought of engaging the community beyond judgmentally.
A close reading of scripture reveals that Jesus himself worked from a much different approach.
First, Jesus reduced the Torah to two commandments--love God with one's whole being and love one's neighbor as oneself. In other words, obedience is far more than simple rule keeping. It is grounded in and formed by love. Jesus also adapted rules to fit a context--hence all the battles over the Sabbath. Since living by love is the aim, some rules are kept some of the time, others all of the time, and some are abandoned if it is more loving not to keep them. The rules are never meant to add to exclusionary practice within the community, but to destroy exclusivism in favor of being more and more inclusive. The rules should be guides and practical wisdom for the actual practice of love.
Second, we see, then, that confessing Christ really is only an introductory item. What will matter far more deeply is the embodiment of Christ in the follower's life. That will be present as the follower meets the world as Jesus met the world. Jesus turned no one away. Jesus emptied himself to make all others full. Jesus healed by invoking the presence of God to wipe away all judgments, restoring the outcast to home.
The message coming from the leaders of our gathering is clear and distinct--if the church is to be relevant, it will counter all within the world that divides, belittles, diminishes, or excludes human beings from the fellowship of Christ. It will counter all that dims anyone's sense that they are indeed a child of God. It will prepare a place at the table for everyone and anyone without exception or qualification.
May we have the will to do so.
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