What does becoming a disciple of Jesus? What does following Jesus mean?
What does becoming a disciple of Jesus? What does following Jesus mean? Many of us would know and would have sung the hymn “I have decided to follow Jesus”, but do we really understand what this means? The second verse of that song says, “The cross before me the world behind me, no turning back, no turning back.” There are so many mixed up interpretations out there on who followers of Jesus are that if you are not properly grounded, you can be easily fooled.
This weekend’s readings and gospel in particular, tells us what following Jesus is all about. As they were proceeding on their journey someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” Jesus is telling us here that being one of his disciples, that following him is not going to be a life of luxury. If you have a Jerusalem Bible, and you turn to this particular passage, which is in Luke Chapter 9 from versus 57, you would see that the subheading of this passage is “Hardships of the apostolic calling.“
There are many misconceptions among many Christian denominations, that being a follower of Jesus Christ is meant to be an easy life. Many Christian denominations preach a gospel that does not include the cross of Jesus Christ. Many Christian denominations preach a gospel of prosperity, of wealth, of riches, and in some instances of extravagance. Jesus is telling us something completely different here. He is saying if you want to be a follower of mine then you must note that even though the birds of the air have somewhere to rest , and so do the foxes and other animals, but he Jesus, the Son of Man, has nowhere to rest his head. This statement of Jesus I think, can be looked at in two different ways. In one instance, Jesus is making it very clear that if we really wants to be followers of Jesus, if we really want to become his disciples, then it will be a difficult journey. The second aspect of this statement points to the fact that Jesus was trying to tell them, and it is telling us that he has nothing but what is given to him by his Father in heaven. I do so another important aspect of being a disciple of Jesus Christ is complete reliance and trust in our Heavenly Father to provide for all that we need.
As I’m writing this, a very beautiful song comes to mind that speaks about total dependence on God to provide for all of our needs. The words of the song are:
More Than Enough
Jehovah Jireh, my provider
You’re more than enough for me.
Jehovah Rapha, You’re my healer,
by Your stripes, I have been set free.
Jehovah Shamma, You are with me
and You supply all of my needs;
You are more than enough,
You are much more than enough,
You are more than enough for me.
This very beautiful song speaks about God, Our Father, providing for all our needs. I believe that apart from Jesus telling us that being a disciple was not going to be an easy thing, he was also saying to us beyond a shadow of a doubt, that His Father, Our Father will provide for all of our needs. When you are a follower of Jesus all of your needs will be met. This is different from your wants, but God has promised us that every one of our needs will be met.
So what does becoming a disciple of Jesus mean? Many have the call of following Jesus all wrong. They think that becoming a disciple is something that priests and other religious do. They do not see it nor do they think of it as being something that every Christian is called to do. Jesus is invitation to follow him is being sent out not just the priest and other religious, but to every single baptized Catholic. Every single one of us who has been brought into the family of God through all baptism into the Catholic faith are called to be followers of Jesus. There is no exception here.
How should we follow Jesus? What does it mean to be Jesus’s disciples? This question I think, can be looked at in parallel to another question that has been posed to many Catholics the world over by some of will Christian brothers and sisters. that question is, are you saved? the Catholic Church teaches us that God’s saving grace through Christ Jesus, is not I am saved — done deal — type of thing. But rather St. Paul tells us that we must work out our salvation in fear and trembling (Phil 2: 12). In the same way, being a follower of Jesus is no done deal. Rather it is something that we do 24/7. It means that every crossroad you arrive at in your life, every challenge that confronts you, every decision that you have to make, you should make that decision by asking yourself, “What would Jesus do?” to honestly answer this question on a day to day basis, in every situation that we meet, then we must know who Jesus is. We must know the heart of God, we must know and want, in fact desire more than anything else the will of God in our lives.
Disciples of Jesus have to be deny themselves daily, and take up their crosses and follow Jesus. In that song I mentioned earlier, ‘I have decided to follow Jesus‘, the second verse speaks about the cross before me and the world behind me. Followers of Jesus have to turn their backs on the world. St Paul tells us in the second reading, “I say, then: live by the Spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh. For the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want. But if you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” (Gal 5: 13 – 18) Being followers of Jesus means not living by the flesh in this very secular and promiscuous world, but rather living by and in the Spirit. Being a disciple of Jesus means saying no to sin and yes to God. It means being unpopular in school because you have decided that you won’t do drugs, that you won’t get involved in pornography, that you won’t get into gangs, that you won’t do all the other things that so many of our youth are getting involved in. Being a follower of Jesus means loving when the words says it does not make sense. It means loving those the world says you should hate and despise. It means being compassionate to others – especially those less fortunate than you. Being a follower of Jesus means being like Jesus.
In the second part of the gospel passage, Jesus invites someone to come and follow him, and his response was, “Lord, let me go and bury my father first.” Many of us make excuses why we cannot follow Jesus. Oh sure we go to Mass and often the first out the door as the priest says, “The Mass is ended.” When it comes to doing anything more than that, you’re not willing. The call to discipleship is a call to commitment. The call to discipleship is called to lay down one’s life. The call to discipleship is based on the decision that no longer will I make excuses. Rather I will say, “Here I am Lord. I have come to do your will. I do not know what tomorrow will bring, but I know that you will be there and I trust you Lord. I have decided to follow you Lord – even though no one else goes with me, I will follow you”
