Christ Church Cathedral
5th Sunday of Pentecost
June 27, 2010 Proper 13
Readings: 2 Kings 2: 1-2, 6-14
Galatians 5: 1, 13-25
Luke 9: 51-62
Today's baptism offers us a opportunity to explore our relationship with Jesus as it first appears in the Gospels and as it has developed in his body the church over time. In the reading from Luke we have a succinct portrayal of three encounters with would-be followers each of which ending with Jesus rejection of their offer. It is this rejection which requires more than a little exploration because it provides a picture of the nature of the company which gathered around Jesus. Although the word "disciple" does not specifically occur in this reading, previous settings indicate that the demands made here by Jesus were identical with those which appear elsewhere in the calling of this select group of followers. The most revealing is the simple command, "Follow me". In calling a group to be his closest followers Jesus was at first glance following an ancient rabbinic tradition which is not unlike the modern tradition in which rabbis might have a small group of young men living in their home. Then and now these men would be called "mathetai" after the Greek verb "manthano" which means "to learn". Similar examples can be found elsewhere in the classical world. However, John Meier1 argues that the Greek verb "akoloutheo" with the sense of "to follow" is a much better rendition of what Jesus demanded. In this sense, Jesus was setting a high standard for those who would be with him to usher in the Kingdom of God.
It is also obvious that disciples constituted only a small number of those who were with Jesus on a regular basis. It is not even clear if The Twelve were taken exclusively from this group who were prepared to drop everything and embark on the itinerant life style that was demanded of the "methetai". On this definition it is clear that while women played a significant role in the growing movement around Jesus, they clearly for cultural as well as religious reasons could not be disciples. Jesus experienced a similar issue with his family even though James later was a leader of the church in Jerusalem and was martyred for his faith. It is not even altogether clear how important the Disciples were for the creation and development of the community which arose following Jesus death and resurrection. Certainly by the time we reach the continuation of Luke's account in the Acts, the term Disciple no longer refers to the immediate close followers of Jesus but to the community in more general terms. The plural of "methetai" although it is masculine in fact can also mean a group of women or a mixed crowd. The history of the 1st century reminds us that Jesus conditions and forecasts about the cost of discipleship were realized numerous times. Yet, of course what Luke has done in his enlargement of the meaning of Disciple is to reflect what I would call the domestication of the community. As Peter proclaims in his sermons these people, are loyal members of the body politic and dutifully paid their taxes.
The organization which resulted from this domestication process we have come to call the church. It separated itself from other communities by its belief that to be a follower of Jesus meant participation in the everlasting life which his resurrection proclaimed. The discussion which followed this revelation centered around how it was to be achieved with membership in the church the crucial point. The writers of the New Testament and the Fathers of the early church firmly expected that the world in which they lived would be quickly replaced by a new and transformed reality marked by the second coming of Jesus as the Risen Christ. We know that this expectation has not been realized and that the transformed world which Jesus proclaimed is in the here and now. To put it in terms of a sound bite - What he was We are!
So our task is not to label ourselves Christians which at best at least in the western world only states we are members of an organization like any other Our identity becomes established in what we say and do about justice, compassion, care and love. Properly understand, we have taken on the same dangerous activity in which he was involved and for which he died. We are at the same time comfortable with a world open to whatever is possible to discover or understand about the creation of God. It is an exceptional opportunity to be born into and from the Body of Christ as well as to accept the responsibility to nurture and support each other. It is a challenge to discover the awesome sense of freedom to accept as did the Son of Man.
Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.
1. John Meier, A MARGINAL JEW. Volume III, New Haven, 2001, p 50f
