A Sunday School teacher asked the class, “What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus?” One little boy thought for a moment and said, “It means you’re always following Him.” The teacher smiled and said, “That’s right! So, are you one of His disciples?” The boy shrugged and said, “Sure… I follow Him on all the socials: Instagram, Facebook, and X, does that count?” The teacher knew there was a more teaching to be done!
Last week, we focused on the first of the three centennial themes: “Deep Spirituality” and we considered the importance of building deeply in order to have a stable foundation that might reach out to the heavens. We identified that there is not one way to build a deep spirituality, there are many. And you must find YOUR way in the journey of deepening your spirituality. And the importance of building a strong foundation in faith is essential in order for us to reach up towards the heavens.
This Sunday, we build upon that and consider “Bold Discipleship”. Discipleship is something which builds upon the deep spirituality that we nurture. Paul’s first letter to Timothy is a wonderful illustration of this in action. He describes the “sincere faith” that has been passed on through the generations. Reaching all the way back to Timothy’s grandmother Lois, passed on to his mother Eunice and now passed on to him. Timothy has received a deep spiritual foundation. Sometimes this occurs through one’s biological family; other times it occurs in one’s spiritual family (like at Northwood). The spiritual faith foundations are passed on and Paul urges Timothy to remember that he did not receive a bland, wishy-washy faith. He received a bold one! Paul encourages Timothy writing: that he “didn’t receive a spirit of cowardice. But rather, he received a spirit of power and self-discipline”. Indeed, he received a faith that informs his Bold Discipleship.
This morning, we ponder what Bold Discipleship might look like for you. Discipleship, as our opening story mentions, is about the following of Jesus. It is about the living of the Christ life in your particular situation. In the Matthew text, we see Simon-Peter’s confession to Jesus. To Jesus’ question “Who do YOU say that I am?”, he responds “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” The first part is getting it up here (in the head). There is a second part that follows. Once we get it up here, we next need to live it out there! The next instruction Jesus gave to all the disciples was “not to TELL anyone that he was the Messiah.” Instead, as the passage continues, “If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” The ordering is significant and must be understood: We first get it, up here: our head and our heart get it…a deepening spirituality…we understand. But it doesn’t stop there! We next are instructed not to tell, but rather to DO! We are called to a Bold Discipleship.
And when we move into this kind of Christ-like living, we become the kind of foundations that Christ builds His church upon. Jesus says to Simon Peter, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
So, what I would like to do for the remainder of our reflection time is to ponder some tangible examples of Bold Discipleship. Perhaps you have already done some thinking on this morning’s topic? Perhaps you might have thought about avoiding this morning as you pondered it a little more deeply? This conversation is the ‘tough part’ of our faith, isn’t it? Many Christians adorn their bodies with a cross: a necklace or earrings, perhaps even a tattoo. Yet, the cross is the symbol not only of Jesus self-giving love, but also a reminder of your call to live in that way. It is the call to bear our own cross ~ like Jesus did; to live the sacrificial life ~ like Jesus did. It is about living a life for others, as Jesus lived and taught. Pierre Burton’s accusation of the church providing “The Comfortable Pew” back in 1965 continues to challenge us in terms of how we carry our cross and confess Jesus with our actions.
Inside the church, Bold Discipleship is lived but what we do. People come early to greet, to prepare hospitality, to prepare for choir, to lead worship in many forms, to prepare for Children’s programs. People go out of their way to welcome others (and not just the friends they know so well). We share in another’s pain and struggles. This, of course, happens throughout all the seven days that we actively engage as the church. As people do more than confess Jesus with their lips; they confess Jesus as Messiah with their actions. This is Bold Discipleship alive in the church! How are you confessing Jesus as Messiah with your actions? You might recall the moment in the Annual Meeting, when we take time to honour all the various ways people participate in the church by asking them to stand. The Board stands, the various ministry members stand, and so on. At the end, everyone is standing, and we are reminded that we confess Jesus as Messiah with more than our lips, we confess him with our lives. This, of course, shifts over time. We play one role at the church in certain chapters and another one in future ones. But, the common thread is the Bold Discipleship we live with our actions.
Shifting outside the four walls of our church, we take up our cross in many different settings, don’t we? Many of you have served on different levels of Church…all the way up to General Council. Others have served on humanitarian missions in foreign parts of the world. Many of us have rolled up our sleeves and fed the hungry on the streets of Surrey, and more recently, at the Cloverdale Community Kitchen. Some have engaged in political marches giving voice to the marginalized. Others have engaged in opportunities for reconciliation to move our communities towards wholeness, like on September 30th with the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
I think what happens when we take Bold Discipleship seriously is that it informs the actions of our living. It informs our role in our family; in our community, in our world. Bold Discipleship charts the course to the counter-cultural gospel that is informed by love, leading us in the direction of God’s Kin-dom of peace. How have you lived a bold discipleship in the past? And how will you live a bold discipleship today and into the future?
Discipleship calls for bold action. It calls us to consider the cross of Christ and the cross we carry. A cross carried with bold actions, bold loving, bold compassion, bold justice. May we carry the cross of Christ in the ways we are called and enabled. And, as we carry it, may the Kin-dom of God further unfold.
Amen.