The sense of discipleship

Mark 10:28-31

28 Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!” ​29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

The human life needs a sense, a meaning, to find purpose and fullness, there’s a lot of possibilities to achieve it. During many centuries people has reflect about how to offers to humanity sense or meaning for their lives. Some people find the meaning through accumulation of wealthy and power, others seek it through fun and diversion, many of them have tried trough reflection philosophical and ethical and other through following Jesus. For the people who find the meaning in the wealthy there is a special teaching in the next story contained in the Our daily bread. As Dust Bowl sandstorms ravaged the United Stated during the Great Depression, John Millburn Davis, a resident of Hiawatha, Kansas, decide to make a name for himself. A self-made millionaire with no children, Davis might invest in charity or economic development. Instead, at great expense, he commissioned eleven life-size statues of himself and his deceased wife to stand in the local cemetery. They hate me in Kansas, David told journalist Ernie Pyle, local resident wanted him to fund construction of public facilities like a hospital, swimming pool, or park. Yet all he said was it’s my money and I spend it the way that I please. This story connects with the biblical experience contained in Mark 10 between Jesus and the rich boy and the implications that this encounter had for the Jesus’ disciples.
 
Wesley mentions about this passage that is a kind of continuation of the conversation between Jesus and the rich boy, even it’s a reaction coming from Peter to the attitude of this rich boy due he was not able to makes the total renunciation to his possession to follow Jesus. All the ideals of this rich young man collapsed before the difficulty of fulfilling the necessary condition. He did not have the courage to leave his riches. And he preferred to follow the path of the Pharisees, who saw in riches a sign of their own justice—a reward from God to the righteous—and a means of increasing it by giving alms. And this way of earning heaven with alms allows, and even justifies, preserving and increasing wealth. According to the Jewish doctrine in use, he who gave alms in heaven acquired a treasure in heaven (cf. Mt 6:24 and 20). Therefore, wealth was an opportunity for a pious and rich man to earn heaven more easily than the poor.

It is not clear enough if the reaction coming from Peter but on behalf of the rest of disciples was legitimate or accepted by Jesus, Jesus doesn’t make any complain to Peter about it. The Peter’s question was simple: What about us? We have left all and followed you… then Jesus developed a strong answer to this interrogation. Firstly, Jesus highlighted the idea of renunciation as part of the cost of discipleship, Jesus enlisted some specific areas of renunciation, all of them deeper and relevant, egg, left family, possessions or status, this last item was also attended in the verse 21st. They already have accomplished the two requirements about renunciation, they have left everything behind, and they have followed Jesus. Jesus also referred to the rewards but not like an exchange, it’s not a kind of transaction but a consequence. Julian the apostate tried to interpret Jesus’ message in a wrong way affirming that Jesus was offering hundred of wives, as a literal interpretation but totally wrong. The rewards represent a new dimension which comes into life through a strong relation with God, the new status of sonship, the new meaning, the reward is the new creation.

It's interesting to check the condition of both parties represented in the passage; the rich boy had a lot of things to lose as the bible says. On the other hand, appeared the disciples, who were poor people, fishers, sicks, some of them were people in wealthy position but the majority were crowds of people in disadvantage. Even that, the question coming from Peter reminder us the human nature, because all the time the reaction is to think about all the material things that we accumulate, and we can lose with a simple decision as follow Jesus. The true is the God’s Kingdom is a dimension that transcends the human comprehension, transcends the human limitations about holding all the wealth and gives to the poverty a possibility as deliverance of selfishness and ego. Also, the God’s dimension transcends the human limitation about life because is beyond the human time but includes eternity. In the context of the passage, appears the reference of the Roman Cesar who accumulated a lot of power and a lot of wealth, but also appears the image of Jesus the Son of God who was the real owner of everything. Jesus was talking about leaving house and lands, and the disciples did it, they sold lands and opened their homes to others. No doubts, only God is capable to control the reality because nobody is bigger than God and no ones can be more powerful than Him. The historical and biblical evidence shows that the commitment of the disciples to follow this ethical program coming from Jesus, which starts with renunciation but follows with the solidarity, as appears in passage as Acts 4:36, and represents the seed of a new humanity. The early church was the seed for a new programmatic human project.

Talking about mission, we can share the story of Jim (1927-1956) and Elisabeth (1926-2015) Elliot; Jim and Elisabeth met in college, but they didn’t get married until they separately went to Ecuador to minister to the Quichua. They married in Quito and moved to a more remote area to try to contact the Huaorani tribe (called the Aucas by the Quichua). Jim and four other missionaries were later killed by the tribe they were trying to reach. After her husband’s death, Elisabeth returned and spent two years ministering to the tribe that killed him. Elisabeth Elliot is one of the most known and loved women missionaries in the last few generations. Through her extensive speaking and many beautiful books, her legacy and inspiration will live on in the hearts of all who read them.
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The reward is contained in the cost of discipleship. The sense of the discipleship include renunciation but has as consequence: the reward, but not like something to seek but as part of the God promise. Nowadays, some Christian, as Julian the apostate, teach wrongly the material wealth is the only evidence of Christianism, especially the prosperity theologicians try to teach that God only bless His people trough material signs, this prosperity thinkers follows the path of the Pharisees, who saw in riches a sign of their own justice—a reward from God to the righteous—and a means of increasing it by giving alms. They still believe in this way of earning heaven with alms allows, and even justifies, preserving and increasing wealth. They continue acting according to the Jewish doctrine in use, he who gave alms in heaven acquired a treasure in heaven and in earth also. The reality is God is the same in our poverty or in our abundance. The influence of Jesus was not so much due to the novelty of his teaching as to the mysterious power of attraction that radiated from his whole person. Many upright and religious men suddenly discovered on meeting him what it means to be perfect. If we have been disciples of Jesus, it doesn’t matter our material or physical condition, God has kept a promise for us, we can live in a life full of sense, meaning and purpose and share this legacy with the new generations and God has kept a place for us in the eternity to share His love forever.