WHAT IS DISCIPLESHIP?

Do you believe the words you are hearing, from this book, are the living Words of God?  “I chose you for the world, to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.” (Jn 15:16)

This week we’ve already heard Luke’s characteristic emphasis on discipleship, purity of intent, and justice for the poor.  And I would say many claim faith in Jesus, but fewer are discipled.  With vocations awareness week approaching let’s explore just what is discipleship really?

Discipleship is more than getting folks to church.  It’s a process in how we mature in Christ, how Christ is formed in us—our thoughts, our actions, our life.  Discipleship is not church attendance, Bible study, canned programs, nor the weekend retreat experience.  These are good starting points but I’m convinced there are many folks who have gone to church their entire life, had retreat experiences and yet they’ve never been discipled.  

Discipleship usually happens in pairs or small groups of 12 or less (if you get my drift) wherein at least one person, having already been discipled, guides the others.  Discipleship is a relationship, it’s walking together in the way of Christ, learning to die, learning how to leave who you were, and learning who you are now because of who God has called us to be.

Here’s the challenge.  Many of the programs the Church uses like the RCIA, Beloved, and other retreat programs, when the program reaches its completion date all too often so ends the walking with relationship.  Let’s face the facts, we are all just to busy with other things or recruiting for the next group for the program to continue walking with, discipling an individual.  Did you catch the sarcasm in the last sentence?

True discipleship takes time. It’s personal, challenging, and often inconvenient.  Learning to follow Jesus, becoming his disciple, means walking alongside someone further in the Christian faith for a significant period, beyond the program. Jesus walked with his disciples for three years and over time his disciples, discipled others, and they in turn still others.  Some lived up to the challenge, others abandoned Paul and I’ve seen far to many newly receive catechumen leave the church when they discovered just how human she can be. 

As if the commitment of time wasn’t challenging enough, the work of a disciple becomes even more challenging when we have to walk the talk among the wolves of the world; in family matters, school, the work place, even our social settings.  If we, who are professed believers, won’t make the commitment to disciple family members, each other, and especially those beyond the walls of the church, then the parishes could find themselves in grave danger of extinction.

Discipleship is about taking the risk to be vulnerable with a person seeking mercy, seeking compassion in need, seeking hope for something better.  They are seeking God, will you disciple them in the way of Christ?

WHERE IS GOD?

My heart wrestled with the today’s scriptures.  There was a terrible temptation to go on a rant of all that is wrong with the world, our nation, our Church and even within myself!  Maybe it was the military language used by the prophet Joel as he describes the natural disaster descending upon the city, anticipating no effective defense or Jesus’ depiction of two opposing forces confronting one another and the tension is building in Gospel of Luke as the gathering force opposing Jesus will soon conspire to put him to death.

Luke’s emphasis is on the hierarchical structure that makes a kingdom work.  The ruler governs through the cooperation and obedience of subordinates who assure that his will is carried out.  If there are mutinous factions, the whole enterprise will collapse.  The same is true of a household or family in Jesus’ time.  If it is run by someone strong enough to guard its treasures, there will be peace and security.  But if another who is stronger comes along, the very possessions the householder wishes to guard will become a liability.  

When I consider the overwhelming invasion of evil that seems to be enveloping every aspect of our lives making the scriptures proclaimed today come to life.  It can leave us asking the question, “Where is God in all these painful events?”  Where is God in all of this?  As much as it feels as though God has abandoned us, our faith tells us God is right with us in the midst of the suffering.  I believe the solution to our individual, Church, national, and world crisis rests with every individual doing some good old fashion house cleaning.

On a retreat I attended the retreat master had us participate in an exercise he titled:  “The Chapel Within”.  He had us imagine what our inner chapel looks like.  Many shared their brokenness, how their inner chapel was cluttered with stuff, broken pews, kneelers and windows.  I was currently dark and gloomy.  He sent us off to contemplate and visualize an ideal chapel.  The sharing was markedly different.  God has intervened giving us the wonderful visions of a clean and magnificent inner chapel.  The challenge is the constant care of maintaining the space.  The prodigal demon will return, with other demons worse than the first.  We must actively join those gathered around Jesus or we will be scattered among his opponents.

Few people had as great an impact on the 20th century as Pope John XXIII, he avoided the limelight as much as possible.  Indeed, one writer has noted that his “ordinariness” as his most remarkable qualities.  In his vision of a global Church, Good Pope John enlarged the membership in the College of Cardinals making it more international.  At his opening address of the Second Vatican Council, he criticized the “prophets of doom” who “in these modern times see nothing but [evasive speech] and ruin.” He set the tone for the Council when he said, “The Church has always opposed… errors. Nowadays, however, the Spouse of Christ prefers to make use of the medicine of mercy rather than that of severity.”[1]

We are being confronted with real-life examples of today’s scriptures.  May we have the faith to find the presence of God’s in our midst.

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[1] Franciscan media. Saint John XXIII www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-john-xxiii

JUST A LITTLE FAITH

[1]If I Were the Devil” is a form of social criticism, an essay that postulates what steps the devil might take in order to corrupt human civilization (and the United States in particular) and lead it down the path of darkness — before delivering the catch that all the steps listed are phenomena that are already taking place in the world today. It was written and popularized by national radio commentator and syndicated columnist Paul Harvey, who from the mid-1960s onwards featured it in both media many times over the course of his long career, periodically updating it to incorporate current trends.  The current version circulating on Facebook is a 1996 update the following is the original version from 1964.

“If I were the devil … I would gain control of the most powerful nation in the world;

I would delude their minds into thinking that they had come from man’s effort, instead of God’s blessings;

I would promote an attitude of loving things and using people, instead of the other way around;

I would dupe entire states into relying on gambling for their state revenue;

I would convince people that character is not an issue when it comes to leadership;

I would make it legal to take the life of unborn babies;

I would make it socially acceptable to take one’s own life, and invent machines to make it convenient;

I would cheapen human life as much as possible so that the life of animals are valued more than human beings;

I would take God out of the schools, where even the mention of His name was grounds for a lawsuit;

I would come up with drugs that sedate the mind and target the young, and I would get sports heroes to advertise them;

I would get control of the media, so that every night I could pollute the mind of every family member for my agenda;

I would attack the family, the backbone of any nation.

I would make divorce acceptable and easy, even fashionable. If the family crumbles, so does the nation;

I would compel people to express their most depraved fantasies on canvas and movie screens, and I would call it art;

I would convince the world that people are born homosexuals, and that their lifestyles should be accepted and marveled;

I would convince the people that right and wrong are determined by a few who call themselves authorities and refer to their agenda as politically correct;

I would persuade people that the church is irrelevant and out of date, and the Bible is for the naive;

I would dull the minds of Christians, and make them believe that prayer is not important, and that faithfulness and obedience are optional;

I guess I would leave things pretty much the way they are. 

Signing off: Paul Harvey, good day.[2]  

Paul Harvey’s writing of 54 years earlier ring clear even today, as does the 1996 version.  It is believed the prophet Habakkuk wrote the first reading verses some twenty-seven hundred years ago seemingly asking God the same questions we may be asking today.  “Why do you let me see ruin, why must I look at misery?  Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and clamorous discord.” (Hb 1:3) and he was going to stand there until God answered him!  Even challenging God, if you want me to believe in you, if you want me to have faith, why don’t you do something?

God’s answer was a command to, “Write down the vision clearly on tablets, so that one can read it readily.” (Hb 2:2) Now I find this response somewhat strange.  God want him to prepare a sign, with bold letters.  I have a theory about signs, no one reads them.  For years my staff when challenged by volunteer’s behavior would recommend making a sign, but they would still use the last of the sugar and not tell anyone.  There are billboards all along the highway that say “Jesus Saves” but we are often distracted by the hundreds of other signs for Cracker Barrel and South of the Border.  I believe when God asks for a sign He is talking about US!  We are the sign that reveals there is still a God vision, despite the ways of the world.  The ways of the world are death-dealing ways.  We see how the prophetic voices of Paul Harvey, Habakkak, Paul, and Jesus, play out every day in the papers, schools and offices, on television, movies, twitter, and our streets.

But God’s ways are different.  God’s ways are life-giving.  Remember God’s promises.  Remember God is faithful.  Remember that God does hear the cries of his people and has stretched out His mighty arm to save, not once but many times.  God’s ways show kindness to the stranger, generosity to the immigrant, compassion and healing care for the ones left for dead by the side of the road, He is a voice for the voiceless.  Remember the stories of God and keep faith.

The apostles ask Jesus, “Increase our faith.”  Jesus’ response is reassuring, for even a tiny faith, no larger than a mustard seed, is powerful.  As the living signs of God’s vision, we are called to bear witness to God’s ways, in lives lived out loud and in big letters, so everyone can see.  We are the signs anointed priest prophet and king at baptism, we living tabernacle of our Lord when we receive the Eucharist, and we are the ones, “by the imposition of hands”, who received the fullness of the Holy Spirit at confirmation; all called to bear witness in the midst of death and destruction, insult and pain, for where else does it have real meaning, to God’s ways of peace and justice, right relationship and kindness, generosity and healing, and love that is not afraid and is stronger than death.

We are called to speak out the truth when justice does not prevail, to live out God’s life-giving vision in our own communities, and to live it large, in the midst of the world and its death-dealing ways.  Because the world needs to see God’s vision.  For some of us, that means developing the eyes to see God’s hand at work in the world around us, to find a way to get out of our comfort zones so we can join God, actively participating in His vision.[3] 

It only takes the faith the size of a mustard seed.

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[1] New American Bible, Saint Joseph Edition © 1986.  Scriptures: Am 8:4-7; 8-10; 1Tm 2:1-8; Lk 16:1-13.

[2] https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/if-i-were-the-devil/ by David Mikkelson, Published 25 October 2004.

[3] Hungry, and You Fed Me © 2012 Edited by Jim Knipper. “O LORD, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not listen?” by Rev. Penny A. Nash.

COMMUNICATING OUR FAITH

For a long time now, I felt in my heart the need to preach on the way we communicate our faith in a very troubled world. Today’s scriptures and especially the Gospel acclamation moved me to research just the right message. What follows is what the Spirit lead me too an article, published in “L’Osservatore Romano” on how to communicate the Christian message effectively and convincingly in the context of today's society, entitled “Nine Keys for Communicating Faith”. While I only focused on a couple points of the article in my homily this morning, I want to post the article in its entirety. 

NINE KEYS FOR COMMUNICATING FAITH

by Professor Juan Manuel Mora, 10/12/2011 

The Church has always seen herself as a messenger, entrusted with good news that has been revealed to her and that needs to be passed on to others. This is an old issue, then, but also a pressing concern today. From Paul VI to Benedict XVI, recent Popes have not failed to point out the need to improve the way we communicate our faith to others. Often, this question is connected to the "new evangelization." In this context, John Paul II said that the communication of the faith must be new "in its ardor, its methods, and its expression" (Speech to the Assembly of CELAM in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 9, 1983). This article will refer in particular to newness of methods. 

Certainly, external factors today hinder the spread of the Christian message, factors that are difficult to eliminate in the short run. But with other factors, which are within our reach, there is scope for progress. If we want to pass on to others the Christian experience of faith, first of all we need a deep knowledge of the faith that we desire to pass on, and we must also know the rules governing effective communication. 

Drawing both on recent important Church documents and on the essential reference points of effective communication, I will offer here a number of principles. The first set refer to the message being broadcast, then to the person who is doing the communicating, and finally to the way that message is to be conveyed to the public. 

Above all, the message must be positive. The general public receives all kinds of information and takes note of protests and criticism. But what receives the greatest attention are positive projects, proposals and causes. 

Characteristics of the message 

1. Positive John Paul II said in his Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris consortio that morality is a path to happiness, not a series of prohibitions. This idea has been frequently stressed by Benedict XVI: God gives us everything and does not take away anything; the teaching of the Church is not a set of limitations, but a light that is received in freedom. 

The Christian message must be transmitted as it is: a huge “Yes!” to all men and women, to life, freedom, peace, development, solidarity, the virtues. To pass it on effectively to others, we must first understand and experience the faith in this positive way ourselves. In this context some words of then Cardinal Ratzinger take on particular meaning: "The force that carries the truth to others must be the joy that is its clearest expression. Christians should stake everything on truth, and it should be passed on to the world with joy." Communication through the radiance of joy is the most positive approach of all. 

2. Relevant  Secondly, the message must be relevant and meaningful for the listener, not just for the speaker. Thomas Aquinas says there are two types of communication: locutio, a flow of words that do not interest those who listen, and illuminatio, which is saying something that enlightens the minds and hearts of the listeners on some aspect that really affects them. 

Communicating the faith is not arguing to beat an opponent but having a dialogue to convince someone of the truth. The attitude of the speaker (or writer) is a desire to persuade without defeating. Listening is fundamental: it enables us to learn what interests or concerns the other person. We must listen to their questions before proposing any answers. The opposite of relevance is self-referencing. Just talking about ourselves is not a good basis for dialogue. 

3. Clear  Thirdly, the message must be clear. Communication is not primarily what the communicator says, but what the recipient understands. This applies in all fields of knowledge (science, technology, economy, etc.). To communicate we need to avoid complexity and obscure language. In religious matters too, we need to look for clear arguments and simple words. Therefore, we should recognize the value of rhetoric, literature, metaphors, movies, advertising, images, and symbols, in spreading the Christian message. 

At times, communication fails because it shifts the responsibility onto the receiver. Our rule should be the opposite: to strive to become clearer and clearer in what we say, until we reach our objective. 

Qualities of the person who communicates

1. Credibility  For a recipient to accept a message, the person or organization that offers it must merit credibility. And since credibility is based on truthfulness and moral integrity, lies and suspicions always undermine the communication process. The loss of credibility is one of the most serious consequences of the crises that have occurred in recent years. 

2. Empathy  The second principle is empathy. Communication is a relationship established between people, not an anonymous mechanism for the dissemination of ideas. The Gospel is addressed to people: politicians and voters, journalists and readers. People with their own views, feelings and emotions. Speaking in cold, impersonal terms creates a widening gap between speaker and listener. 

An African writer has said that maturity lies in the ability to discover that we can wound others and acting accordingly. Our society is overpopulated with broken hearts and bewildered minds. We need to approach physical pain and mental suffering with the utmost sensitivity. Empathy does not mean giving up our convictions but putting ourselves in the other person’s place. In today's society, the answers that will convince people are the ones that are both sensible and humane. 

3. Courtesy  The third principle relating to the communicator is courtesy, good manners. We know from experience how personal insults proliferate in public debate. In a context like that, if we do not take care of the way we treat people, we run the risk of making the Christian standpoint be seen as just another fundamentalist position. Even at the risk of sounding naive, I think it is very necessary to distance ourselves from such a context. Clarity is not incompatible with kindness. 

With kindness we can hold a conversation; without kindness, failure is guaranteed from the outset: the person who was on our side before the debate may still agree with us afterwards, but the person who was against us will seldom change his or her mind. I remember seeing a sign at the entrance to a pub near Windsor Castle, in the UK, which said, more or less: "Gentlemen are welcome here. And one is a gentleman both before drinking beer and afterwards." We could add that one is a gentleman both when people agree with him and when they contradict him. 

Principles on how to communicate

1. Professionalism  Gaudium et Spes recalls that every human activity has its own nature, which we need to discover, use and respect if we want to take part in it. Each field of knowledge has its methodology, each activity has its rules, and each profession has its mindset. Evangelization is not divorced from human reality, but takes place from within: politicians, businessmen, journalists, teachers, writers, and trade unionists, each must solve the problems that arise in their respective fields. 

St Josemaría Escrivá insisted that it is individual people, committed to their beliefs and to their own profession, who will find the right approaches and solutions for today's problems. If it is a parliamentary debate, they do so on political grounds; if it is a medical debate, they do so with scientific arguments, and so on. This principle also applies to the field of communications, which has developed remarkably in recent years, both in its growing quality and increasingly broad and active citizen participation. 

2. Gradualness  The second principle of good communications is gradualness. Social trends have a complex life: they are born, grow, develop, change and die. Consequently, communicating ideas has a lot in common with gardening: sowing, watering, pruning, cleaning, waiting, before the harvest comes. 

The phenomenon of secularization has strengthened in recent centuries. Processes that have such a long gestation period are not resolved in a matter of years, months or weeks. Cardinal Ratzinger said that our world view tends to follow a “masculine” paradigm, where what matters is action, effectiveness, programming and speed. He concluded that more space should be given to a “feminine” paradigm, because women know that everything to do with life requires waiting and patience. 

The opposite of this principle is the hustle and short-sightedness that lead to impatience and often discouragement, because it is impossible to achieve major objectives in the short term. 

3. Charity  Charity is a principle that affects all of the above: the message, the communicator, and how to communicate. Some authors have noted that in the first centuries the Church spread very quickly because it was a welcoming community, where people could experience love and freedom. Catholics treated others with love; they cared for children, the poor, the elderly and the sick. All this was irresistibly attractive. 

Charity is the content, the method and the style of all effective communication of faith. Charity makes the Christian message positive, relevant and attractive. It provides credibility, empathy and kindness to the people doing the communicating, and it is the force that enables them to be patient and open. The world we live in is all too often a cold, hard place where many people feel excluded and battered, and long for light and warmth. In today's world, the greatest argument of Christians is charity. Thanks to charity, evangelization is always truly new.

From an article published in "L’Osservatore Romano" by Juan Manuel Mora, professor of Institutional Communication at the University of Navarra. Between 1991 and 2006 he worked in the Department of Communication of Opus Dei in Rome. He has combined professional practice and consulting with teaching and research. https://opusdei.org/en-us/article/nine-keys-for-communicating-faith/