Discipleship as “Tell-show-do-apply” kind of following Jesus Christ: Reflecting on Matthew 16: 21-28

As part of the driving test, besides theory exam, the examiner asks ‘show me’ and ‘tell me’ questions during the practical test, to test the new drivers’ knowledge about the safety of the vehicle. “Tell-show-do-apply” forms a strategy for creating an in-depth learning experience for both the instructor and the student. This week from our lectionary reading, I understand Jesus explaining about his identity and about the discipleship using this strategy, so that both his first century audience and the readers of this text today can decipher that the route map in following Jesus is “tell-show-do-apply.”

 

Ever since Peter affirmed Jesus to be the Messiah and the Son of the living God (16v), ‘from that time on,’ Jesus began to show his disciples about his death and resurrection. It is important to note that in verse 21, it is said, “From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples…” On reading this verse again, I was intrigued to recognise that Jesus was not merely ‘telling,’ ‘foretelling’ or just ‘preaching’ about his death and resurrection, rather ‘began to show’ about it to his disciples. Jesus began to demonstrate his sufferings, death and resurrection at the hands of the empire, so that the disciples understand the real essence of Jesus being the Messiah and the Son of the living God. Jesus is now adding flesh to Peter’s counter-cultural declaration (21v), showing that to be a Messiah and the Son of God is to live and testify for the values of God’s Kingdom for it contrasts the empire, and the cost of such a call and living is suffering and death in their hands. However, death is not the end of it, for God offers hope and new life to the creation by raising him on the third day.  Jesus has shown about the kingdom of God to his disciples, in his acts of protest against the Roman empire, in his acts of compassion towards people and in his acts of liberating the oppressed. Jesus has always shown it by being a living testimony in every situation of his life.

 

When Jesus began showing his disciples about the suffering, death and resurrection that is to come to him, Peter took Jesus aside and rebuked him saying, “God forbit it, Lord! This must never happen to you” (22v). Peter said those words for he did not want to lose Jesus. But Jesus knew that his suffering, death and resurrection will not happen if he compromises about the Kingdom of God and not demonstrate the love of God to all the oppressed communities. Jesus wouldn’t prefer doing that, and did not leave any stone unturned in liberating the oppressed communities, for which he knew public execution in the form of a cross is the cost that he has to pay for such an act.

 

Jesus rebuked Peter to be a stumbling block in his mission of God, challenging him to set his mind on divine things, which was his mission with the margins, and not on human things. Liberating the oppressed on the margins has always been at the heart of the divine, and Jesus has come to tell-show-do-apply on this earth, so that his disciples and followers will do it.  Jesus made a conscious choice of brining good news to the poor and liberating the oppressed living on the margins.

 

Then Jesus told his disciples, “if any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (24v). Jesus having told and shown his mission, now is inviting his disciples to do and to apply. Three things to do and apply as followers of Jesus, self-denial, taking up their cross and following Jesus. Denying one’s own self is costly, for it is said, “love is self-lessness and self is love-lessness”, so denying one’s own self is to put ‘others’ first, put love first and put love for others first. Taking up one’s own cross is an important thing to understand. Cross is the reward for standing and striving for God’s kingdom, which is to achieve peace, justice, love and equality. So, carrying one’s own cross is carrying the reward for suffering for peace, justice, love and equality. Many have misread this verse by assuming Jesus is inviting us to carry his cross, and forget that each of us has a cross and Jesus is inviting us to carry it in our discipleship for Jesus. Wearing a cross is easy, but bearing it is costly. To put it in other words, if we are followers of Jesus, there is for sure a cross for every follower, because working with Jesus for justice and peace is costly today. And then to follow Jesus, which is not as a volunteer for the gospel but a follower of Jesus by ‘telling-doing-showing-applying.’ Jesus, then goes on to say, “for those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it” (25v). Jesus was assuring his disciples about the strength in resurrection, for God offers hope to all those who suffer for the kingdom of God by granting new life experience.

 

Drawing a relevance of this text for us today, we are called as churches to be ‘tell-show-do-apply’ followers of Jesus. This ‘tell-show-do-apply’ is a complete package and over the times, we have compartmentalised it and have used each part of it in isolation. Or most times we have only remained as ‘telling’ churches, telling people and haven’t put our efforts towards showing, doing and applying the gospel of Jesus Christ. As churches our call is to demonstrate the love of God in our community, for which we might have to deny ourselves of our identity and offer love to all in our community unconditionally. As churches our call is to do like what Jesus is doing, to act, to dirty our feet in our working with the margins. This week at Glasgow, as you would have read that Mercy Baguma, an asylum seeker from Uganda was found dead in ‘extreme poverty’ next to her crying baby due to hunger. How can such a thing like this happen during our times today in a 21^st century advanced society, and I am angered at reading this news. Where has mercy and compassion gone?  As part of dirtying our feet, we as churches are called to hear the cries of Mercy’s who are in our localities crying, and are called to share our food to feed people in their hunger.

 

In terms of ‘applying’ Christian discipleship, it was a delight to know that the German Protestant church is sending a ship called ‘Sea-watch 4’ into the Mediterranean Sea to rescue migrants, for they do not want to stand by and watch thousands of people die in the sea. You can read more about it here on this link.[1] This is an example to see how churches today as followers of Jesus Christ are willing to carry their cross, for they are joining with Jesus in saving lives and in promoting life. Application of Jesus gospel today is the key in our moving forward. How do we translate the work of Jesus in our context today? In this application, the methodology might be different from how God in Jesus worked in his historical contexts, for God in God’s dynamism is willing to work with us to see that we are open in applying the gospel relevant to us. Discipleship today demands application of the gospel in actions, relevant for our times.

 

In the context of re-opening the church building for worship, with booking or informing well ahead who would join a service happening these days, I was pleased to hear that some people in my churches have put their names as ‘reserved,’ by which they were willing to drop off and stay at home if there are more people than the allocated number turn up for a service. In following Jesus, we are called to deny ourselves and our own priorities, and take up the cross of love for the sake of God’s kingdom here on earth.

 

May our communities around us know us as ‘tell-show-do-apply’ Christians and churches. May we keep working with passion for the cause of God’s Kingdom by carrying our own local and global crosses and follow Jesus Christ faithfully. Our discipleship in Christ is authentic when it is rooted in ‘tell-show-do-apply’ kind of Christianity. May God grant us God’s strength so that we can follow Jesus sincerely by meeting the needs of the people around us.

 

Rev. Dr. Raj Bharat Patta

27^th August 2020


Pic credit: https://sojo.net/articles/im-following-jesus-real-time

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[1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/06/german-protestant-church-to-send-migrant-rescue-boat-to-mediterranean#:~:text=The%20German%20Protestant%20church%20will,preparations%2C%20the%20crew%20has%20said.

Who do you say Jesus is today? Towards a courageous and counter-cultural church - Reflecting on Matthew 16: 13-20

Last week during my annual leave, I started watching ‘Vicar of Dibley’ on the recommendation of my colleagues. When the villagers were waiting for a new vicar at Dibley, to their utter surprise it was a woman Geraldine, who introduces herself as the new vicar of Dibley. Who did they think the vicar would be? Since it has always been men who were vicars, the villagers at Dibley expected a gentleman to be their vicar, based on their theological and historical evidences. Against their expectations, when it was a woman vicar, it took time for them to accept her, and eventually Rev. Geraldine makes a huge difference in the community through her ministry. It was fun watching these episodes, specially Dawn French’s performance of Rev. Geraldine, as a female priest in the tiny village of Dibley is exceptional to watch.

 

In the reading from Matthew 16: 13-20, Jesus asks his disciples about his identity, asking them, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Like the villagers in Dibley, the people in the district of Caesarea Philippi had their own known theological and historical expectations of Jesus, the Son of Man. For the disciples reported, “Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (14v). Jesus was neither content with their reply nor consented to their reply. Now that John the Baptist was dead, Jesus did not claim that he was the risen John the Baptist. Since Elijah was the greatest prophet of Jewish religion who did not see death, Jesus did not claim that he was Elijah reborn. Jeremiah was a known prophet of yester years, for he was lamenting against exilic powers then, and there was every reason for Jesus to claim that he was Jeremiah born again to lament against the colonial powers of his time. Even though Jesus’ mission coincides with the mission engagements of John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah and other prophets, Jesus was not content on taking the identity of others for himself. Jesus has his own unique identity, which he wanted his disciples to explore and recognise based on his work and mission engagements. If we read the question that Jesus posed to his disciples, Jesus was enquiring, ‘who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ and not as ‘who do people say that the Son of Man was?’ Jesus was looking for an answer in present tense.  Jesus was not content with an answer based on some historical knowledge about himself, he was looking for an answer in present tense.

 

When his identity was not fully expressed in the answers of the people, Jesus further probed his disciples and asked them, “who do you say I am?” (15v) Jesus would have said to his disciples, let’s leave what the people say about me, for they have not seen or known me as much as you have seen and known me, and therefore asked his disciples to say who he was as they have known him. It was a question to all the disciples to answer who Jesus was to them. Simon Peter picked Jesus question and replied, “you are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (16v). On a closer encounter with Jesus, Peter recognised the Messiah in Jesus, who the Jews have been eagerly awaiting to come and restore their land, and also recognised that Jesus is the Son of the living God. For the Jewish audience of the first century to whom Matthew was writing his gospel, they wouldn’t mind calling Jesus as John the Baptist, or Elijah or Jeremiah or another prophet, they would have thought Jesus was continuing their mission. But for Jews then, Peter’s declaration of Jesus as a Messiah and the Son of the living God was heretical and profane. For according to their belief, Messiah was a political figure who will come to restore their land, and how can Jesus, a son of a carpenter from Nazareth do that? According to their Jewish faith, how can living God have a son, for God is beyond any human comprehension for God cannot be compared in human terms of a son. Peter’s declaration of Jesus’ identity was not only counter-cultural, but was also blasphemous.

 

Jesus on the contrary, not only appreciates Simon Peter for his bold declaration about Jesus, but also reveals that such a declaration did not come to him from flesh and blood, but has come from his Father in heaven (17v). In a way Jesus accepted that yes, he was the Messiah, who has come to restore people to God and also is the Son of the living God, the Father in heaven. Peter’s declaration about Jesus was a recognition of who Jesus is, in its present tense. Peter’s declaration about Jesus was contextual, contemporary, creative, and counter-cultural, for they were based on his experiences and encounters with Jesus. Jesus then said to Simon Peter, that on such a rock called Peter he would build his church, and the gates of the hades will not prevail against it (18v). 

 

As we read this text today, two sets of questions come to the fore for our faith journey today. Firstly, who do we say Jesus is for us today? Secondly, what do we say about our church today? We have recognised earlier that Jesus was not content with some historical answers about him, but was seeking a creative, contextual and counter-cultural recognition about Jesus.

 

Allow me to answer it from my own perspective who do I say Jesus is for me? Jesus for me is God becoming human, who identifies with us, laughs with us, walks with us, weeps with us, like a friend, for he transcends all the barriers among people and builds a just and inclusive communion with God and with one another in this his creation. Jesus for me is the lens to know who God is, and a lens to know how human beings should be. Jesus for me is collaborating with each of us in the creation of God in striving towards a new-creation. Jesus for me is the one who stands for justice and sides with those that are oppressed, offering hope and liberation to them. By making such a declaration about Jesus, the call for us is to live like Jesus and work with Jesus in transforming our world to a just world.

 

What do we say about church today? Like Peter, the church is built on people who make counter-cultural affirmations about Jesus, offering hope, love, and peace to all in the community with Jesus, for the gates of hades will not prevail against it. Church for me should not be known by its membership, but should be known by its missional engagements for justice. Church for me should not be known by its minister, but should be known by its ministry in the community. Church for me should not be a private place for the saints, but a public place of comfort and care to the wounded and the broken people. Church for me should not be about prosperity and wealth, but should be about sharing good news to the poor, feeding the hungry, healing the wounded, visiting the sick, realising the captives and engaging in transforming this world to become a new creation. For no gates of hades will prevail against such a church, for Jesus is the lead to it, working with people for a new heaven and new earth.

 

As we return back to our church buildings for worship, let us keep reflecting on the need and relevance of our churches today. I have written previously, what has the community missed with the closing down of church buildings? And now what will the community around our church gain by the opening of our church building for worship? We need to prayerfully wait on God and ask God to help us envision a counter-cultural church, where we can make a difference in our community. Let us not to be content with the rich historical legacy we have had, let us not always keep singing about the past glory of our churches, rather we are called in humility to recognise that we as a church are called to share and offer hope in Jesus Christ to our communities around us. It calls courage to be counter-cultural as a church, but allowing the Spirit of God to lead us will help us in our movement forward, in fact outward as a church. The gates of the hades will not prevail against the church built on a rock, who are willing to be courageous, counter-cultural and creative in their declarations of faith and engagements of mission today. As a church if we aren’t counter-cultural, the gates of contemporary hades will prevail on us.

 

Let’s keep asking this question in our quest for re-imagining the church today, who is Jesus for us today? And what is church for us today? May God lead us and guide us so that we can be bold to be counter-cultural in our declarations of our faith and also in our missional engagements. By the way the Rev. Geraldine, the vicar of Dibley was counter-cultural in many ways and continued her mission engagements.

 

Rev. Dr. Raj Bharat Patta,

21^st August 2020

Pic credit: https://sermons.com/powerpoint/who-do-you-say-i-am/1456748

Are we as a church willing to walk with Jesus on waters today? Reflecting on Matthew 14:22-33

Amidst a re-lockdown measures in place due to the spike in the transmission of virus in our borough here, and as I read through the risk assessment forms of the churches in their preparations for the reopening of the church buildings for worship, I have been thinking are there any theological risk assessments that need to be addressed by us as churches. I reckon how important are the risk assessments for us to follow to keep everyone safe as they return to the church buildings. However, in our planning, all what we have been trying to do is working on how to come back to the church buildings. But personally, I think, a rather more important serious question for us to introspect is how are we preparing ourselves to come back to ‘church?’ What has the learning for us to be a church over the last 20 weeks in lockdown? Have we captured a new vision for us as a church or are we just eager to get back to what we have always been and done as a church? Where is God leading us as a church at a time like this?

 

For me, church is where Jesus is; in other words, church as a plural word for disciples is a place where Jesus is. This week’s reading from Matt 14:22-33, we have Jesus walking on the waters, and this text offers an invitation for us as church to be very different from the usual routine, to walk along with Jesus on the waters of modernity today.

 

After feeding more than five thousand people in the wilderness, Jesus stayed back dismissing everyone including his disciples to retreat and spend time in prayer. “When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them.” (Matt 14:23-24) Since the boat wasn’t there for him to travel Jesus had to do something unusual and odd to reach out to his disciples, which was walking on the waters. To put it other way, in order to reach out to his disciples, his friends, Jesus (ad)ventures to leave no stone unturned and can go to any extent, even to the point of walking on the water. For Jesus taking risks was nothing new, and at this point having spent time in prayer with God in solitude, Jesus knew that there is nothing that can separate him to love his disciples, even a lake and so he walks on it to show his love for them by reaching out to them. In other words, for Jesus there is nothing that can separate him from the love of God and his love for people, neither death nor life, neither peril nor pandemic, nor height, nor depth, nor length, nor lake, nor day, nor night, nor things present, nor things to come, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate him from love. At this instance, Jesus demonstrated that love for his disciples by reaching them on foot on waters. For Jesus all that mattered was reaching his disciples, for which he employs unusual and odd ways, of walking on water.

 

When Jesus does something unusual and odd, the first reaction that comes from the people was to mistake him to be a ‘ghost.’ It was well past midnight, early morning ish, when the fishermen turned disciples, were travelling in the boat to the other side of the shore, ahead of Jesus, the waves started roaring on the sea that they saw a ‘ghost’ walking on the sea. Terrified by seeing ‘the ghost’ the disciples cried out in fear. This case of fear in the life of disciples happened because, firstly, it was unusual and impossible to see someone walking on the sea, when they saw such a thing at that odd hour, they were in fear. Secondly, they mistook Jesus for a ghost or a phantom. They did not anticipate that the divine in Jesus can appear at the oddest periods of time and in the most unusual ways such as walking on water. They neither had a slightest clue to know that Jesus did this to express his love for them. The disciples were scared, fear overtook them, and they were terrified. Learning that his colleagues were petrified, Jesus comforted them by saying that “Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid.” Our context is no different today. Fear has taken over us for we are not able to recognise Jesus who has been coming to us at odd hours, and in odd and unusual ways.

 

On recognising Jesus words of hope, Peter takes courage in making a plea to Jesus to command him to walk like Jesus on the rough sea. Peter has personally seen and witnessed the strength in the command of Jesus on other occasions, be it in catching two boats of fish, or in stilling the storm or in casting away the demons, and therefore he makes a plea to Jesus to command him to walk on the rough sea. Jesus does not ignore the pleas made by his disciples, and since Peter has acknowledged the power of his command, he invites him to get out of the boat, to come and walk like him on the rough sea. Jesus appreciates when courage transforms people to adventure, and Peter started to walk on water towards Jesus. A rare sight for a human to walk on rough sea, Peter did it and walked for a while, for his plea was answered and became a reality.

 

This rare experience of walking on water for Peter did not long last, for as long as he kept his gaze on Jesus, he walked on rough seas as easy as he walked on the streets. When he let go his gaze on Jesus and noticed the strong winds of that rough sea, fear overcame him once again, and he began to sink in the waters. Letting go his focus on Jesus cost him dear. A diversion and deviation from the gaze on Jesus caused him to lose his balance on the waters, and was overtaken by fear and anxiety.

 

In those sinking moments, Peter cried out “Lord save me!” This shout of Peter on the one hand was an act of his confession for losing his focus on Jesus, and on the other hand it was an act of intercession, crying for help to save him from sinking. At that shout for salvation, the Grace of God came near to Peter, and Jesus reached out his hand, caught him and brought him out from sinking by granting him a new life experience. Imagine if Jesus did not come in rescue of Peter, he would have drowned. But he was found by the Grace of God, that he was saved to life and was caught by Jesus to live for him and for God’s Kingdom. In saving Peter, Jesus exposed his little faith, his doubt and healed them with greater faith and trust. The rest of the disciples on witnessing this whole episode recognised the ‘Son of God’ in Jesus and became a worshipping community.

 

On seeking relevance of this text for us as churches today, the call is in what ways are we trying to reach out to our people around us? We as churches have been very comfortable in doing what we have always done, and any slight change can cause a huge ruckus in our churches. In order to reach out to his disciples Jesus not only went an extra mile, but also went to walk on the waters with an extra smile. When Jesus did something unusual and odd in reaching out, the disciples did not recognise it was Jesus and called him a ‘ghost.’ There is no one size fit for all churches today in terms of translating what does that mean for us as churches to walk on the waters with Jesus. If we have a love for our community, we will like Jesus walk on waters to reach them, however impossible it might be, with Jesus we are called to do that. In that process there is every reason for the church to be misunderstood, like the disciples calling Jesus ‘ghost’, but it is worth taking a risk with Jesus and be prepared to be branded as a church in doing things differently.

 

This text is an invitation to capture a new vision for us as churches, which might look like walking on the waters. But we can like Peter start walking on waters when we get out of our comfy boats. Only on getting out of our boat and boxes can we as churches can walk with Jesus on the waters. Peter’s walk on the rough sea is an invitation to us, the disciples of Christ in this 21^st century, to recognise the strength in the command of Jesus, to be courageous in faith and to transform it to an adventurous faith of walking along with Jesus on rough seas of our times. My vision for a church today is that we will always remain in service of our community, addressing the needs and fears of people around us. Church is not about what happens at 11 O’clock on a Sunday but it is more about walking with Jesus on unusual grounds in love of our creation around us, and in helping people to overcome their fears and anxieties.

 

This text assures us that God’s grace helps us from sinking in the waters, for it is Jesus who is calling us to walk with him on the waters, and if we begin to sink, Jesus extends his hand to us. As church, let us be adventurous to walk with Jesus, driving all fears of sinking, for God’s grace has not given up on the church today. Church as offering Christian presence in our communities is still relevant and this current situation is an opportunity to sit together and envision a new vision for us as churches. In the waters of uncertainty, in the waters of insecurity, in the waters of anxiety, Jesus is inviting us to step out of our boats and walk with him, for he creates a worshipping community at the end. Let me remind you, it is not the worshipping community that is walking on the waters, but it is when a community recognises Jesus walking on the waters, and one of them joining with Jesus in that walk, they turn out to be a worshipping community. God is leading us a church to transform from being a frightened community to be a worshipping community, willing to do the unusual and odd things for God and with God.

 

May God grant us God’s grace so that we as a church can walk along with Jesus on the unusual and unexpected sites like on waters so that we become relevant, meaningful and worshipping community.

 

Rev. Dr. Raj Bharat Patta

6^th August 2020

Pic courtesy: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/Aeu8An4U04uYYhPrgeJQjaHMAK3s3B1gsM4EOcOEF7ooXEnj6d07ASM/