Positive Elements in Discipleship (Contd).
Renunciation: It would be worthwhile to reflect a little over the leaving of everything behind advocated by Jesus and our understanding of the same in practical life. Does leaving everything mean physical separation from father, mother, wife, children, properties etc.? If so, only very few people who have left everything and migrated to deserts, forests, strange countries as missionaries, monks and nuns, etc., would be counted as true disciples of Jesus. What about the vast majority of the human race who live a routine normal livfe with family and daily work that sustains them and their family members? Are they excluded from the possibility of becoming the disciples of Jesus? In the Gospels we see that the great majority of the disciples were family men and many women followers were also settled in family life. Mary and Joseph lived a quite family life observing Jewish customs like going to the Jerusalem temple for festivals and fulfilling other duties required of the pious Jewish people. As a carpenter Joseph had to work daily to sustain his wife Mary and Jesus, the Son of God.
At the same time, we see that Peter and Andrew as well as John and James leaving everything - their nets, boats and parents - and following Jesus at his call. Similarly, Levi who became Matthew as an Apostle got up immediately from his seat of tax collection leaving the money collected, his job, etc., and followed Jesus. The man who had obeyed all the commandments from his youth was asked by Jesus to sell all his possessions and distribute the proceeds to the poor and follow him if he wanted to become perfect. Nicodemus was a member of the Jewish Council who approached Jesus at night for advice and was a secret disciple. Joseph of Arimethea was another secret disciple of Jesus.Then there are converted sinners like Mary Magdalene, Zacchaeus, the good thief, the Roman centurion standing in front of the crucified Jesus, etc., who were also disciples of Jesus.
From the examples given above, it is clear that the one distinguishing mark and defining criterion required for leaving everything behind is detachment from the objects and persons we love naturally. This is all the more evident in the requirement of leaving our own selves behind to become disciples of Jesus. No one can run away from one's own self nor physically separate from it and yet leaving it behind is essential for discipleship. Detachment with regard to self and selfish ways is the most important requirement for discipleship of Jesus. Detachment here is the same as dying to self as death requires leaving everything behind whether one likes it or not. It is achieved by being a servant or by becoming like a child by self-humiliation. Thus, even while we live, we are dead to self, world and Satan and alive to God. That is the outcome of true detachment. Without detachment, no physical separation from persons or riches will do any good to us in the matter of discipleship..
Self-Liberation: In what does detachment consist? As we live in this world, it is not possible to get rid of all the material goods and live a normal life. What we can and must do is to keep our inner freedom untainted by the persons and objects we are normally surrounded with. Inter-relationship should not create slavery both in us and and in the persons we are dealing with. Nor should we try to exploit other people for our personal gains. Rather, our aim should be truly to empower each and every person we come in contact with. Only a detached person can do this successfully and meaningfully. The same is true about our possession of material goods. They are to be used keeping our freedom intact without being entangled and sucked in by their destructive attractions. Selling one's possessions and distributing the proceeds among the poor is a clear indication of one's detachment from worldly possessions. Such a person has seen the value of the gem or the pearl , which is following Jesus, that he or she wants to acquire. However, just selling or leaving everything does not make one a disciple of Jesus. It has to be in response to the call by God Himself for becoming a disciple of Jesus.
The clearest specimen of detachment may be seen in the act of leaving the self behind. In fact, this is the most important aspect of detachment without which all other kinds of detachment are worthless. It is the most difficult to achieve as we are dealing here with our own selves that cannot be got rid of like other persons or material goods. How do we achieve it ? The method of achieving it, as taught by Jesus, is to humble ourselves before God and the humans. We are asked to humble ourselves till we are like little children without which we cannot even enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Accepting humiliation meted out to us in public will be an excellent means to get rid of our self and practice detachment. Serving our fellow-humans without any strings attached and without any expectations for the services rendered grounds us in the habit of practicing detachment. The Pope calls himself "the servant of servants". This points to the real nature of leadership in the Church which should be called "servant-leadership". No one can be a servant leader without detachment of self to the point of being a real servant. Here we should keep in mind that the type of service is determined by the task at hand and all kinds of servants cannot be categorized into one and only mold. The true nature of authority is in service, whereas power has many progenitors and offspring, which tend to corrupt individuals and society. Using power on people demeans them and causes their dehumanization as well as that of the user of power, whereas service will empower people and humanize them. From this kind of service there follows referent power as found in Jesus which is never coercive. People follow such a leader voluntarily and are ready even to sacrifice their lives as a form of supreme self-detachment.(To be Contd).
Renunciation: It would be worthwhile to reflect a little over the leaving of everything behind advocated by Jesus and our understanding of the same in practical life. Does leaving everything mean physical separation from father, mother, wife, children, properties etc.? If so, only very few people who have left everything and migrated to deserts, forests, strange countries as missionaries, monks and nuns, etc., would be counted as true disciples of Jesus. What about the vast majority of the human race who live a routine normal livfe with family and daily work that sustains them and their family members? Are they excluded from the possibility of becoming the disciples of Jesus? In the Gospels we see that the great majority of the disciples were family men and many women followers were also settled in family life. Mary and Joseph lived a quite family life observing Jewish customs like going to the Jerusalem temple for festivals and fulfilling other duties required of the pious Jewish people. As a carpenter Joseph had to work daily to sustain his wife Mary and Jesus, the Son of God.
At the same time, we see that Peter and Andrew as well as John and James leaving everything - their nets, boats and parents - and following Jesus at his call. Similarly, Levi who became Matthew as an Apostle got up immediately from his seat of tax collection leaving the money collected, his job, etc., and followed Jesus. The man who had obeyed all the commandments from his youth was asked by Jesus to sell all his possessions and distribute the proceeds to the poor and follow him if he wanted to become perfect. Nicodemus was a member of the Jewish Council who approached Jesus at night for advice and was a secret disciple. Joseph of Arimethea was another secret disciple of Jesus.Then there are converted sinners like Mary Magdalene, Zacchaeus, the good thief, the Roman centurion standing in front of the crucified Jesus, etc., who were also disciples of Jesus.
From the examples given above, it is clear that the one distinguishing mark and defining criterion required for leaving everything behind is detachment from the objects and persons we love naturally. This is all the more evident in the requirement of leaving our own selves behind to become disciples of Jesus. No one can run away from one's own self nor physically separate from it and yet leaving it behind is essential for discipleship. Detachment with regard to self and selfish ways is the most important requirement for discipleship of Jesus. Detachment here is the same as dying to self as death requires leaving everything behind whether one likes it or not. It is achieved by being a servant or by becoming like a child by self-humiliation. Thus, even while we live, we are dead to self, world and Satan and alive to God. That is the outcome of true detachment. Without detachment, no physical separation from persons or riches will do any good to us in the matter of discipleship..
Self-Liberation: In what does detachment consist? As we live in this world, it is not possible to get rid of all the material goods and live a normal life. What we can and must do is to keep our inner freedom untainted by the persons and objects we are normally surrounded with. Inter-relationship should not create slavery both in us and and in the persons we are dealing with. Nor should we try to exploit other people for our personal gains. Rather, our aim should be truly to empower each and every person we come in contact with. Only a detached person can do this successfully and meaningfully. The same is true about our possession of material goods. They are to be used keeping our freedom intact without being entangled and sucked in by their destructive attractions. Selling one's possessions and distributing the proceeds among the poor is a clear indication of one's detachment from worldly possessions. Such a person has seen the value of the gem or the pearl , which is following Jesus, that he or she wants to acquire. However, just selling or leaving everything does not make one a disciple of Jesus. It has to be in response to the call by God Himself for becoming a disciple of Jesus.
The clearest specimen of detachment may be seen in the act of leaving the self behind. In fact, this is the most important aspect of detachment without which all other kinds of detachment are worthless. It is the most difficult to achieve as we are dealing here with our own selves that cannot be got rid of like other persons or material goods. How do we achieve it ? The method of achieving it, as taught by Jesus, is to humble ourselves before God and the humans. We are asked to humble ourselves till we are like little children without which we cannot even enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Accepting humiliation meted out to us in public will be an excellent means to get rid of our self and practice detachment. Serving our fellow-humans without any strings attached and without any expectations for the services rendered grounds us in the habit of practicing detachment. The Pope calls himself "the servant of servants". This points to the real nature of leadership in the Church which should be called "servant-leadership". No one can be a servant leader without detachment of self to the point of being a real servant. Here we should keep in mind that the type of service is determined by the task at hand and all kinds of servants cannot be categorized into one and only mold. The true nature of authority is in service, whereas power has many progenitors and offspring, which tend to corrupt individuals and society. Using power on people demeans them and causes their dehumanization as well as that of the user of power, whereas service will empower people and humanize them. From this kind of service there follows referent power as found in Jesus which is never coercive. People follow such a leader voluntarily and are ready even to sacrifice their lives as a form of supreme self-detachment.(To be Contd).
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