Types of Discipleship (Contd).
Remembrance is Salutary: A cock turned out to be instrumental in the case of Peter for being pulled out of the edge of a great abyss he was about to fall into. See how God uses all creatures for our benefit, even for eternal salvation! However, the crucial point here is that Peter remembered what the Lord had earlier said , whereas Judas could not remember anything of the past. He was irrevocably caught up within the mess of his own life without daring to think back on his life with Jesus. He could not remember anything that could have saved him from his own folly by repentance and return to Jesus. The end-result was self-destruction borne out of desperation and fear of consequences of his actions.
Remembrance is salutary and has redeeming power as can be seen from the Bible. God Himself takes the initiative to remember His covenant with Noah by setting up a sign in the form of a rainbow. "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between myself and all that lives on earth" (Genesis, 9: 17). It is understood that if the Creator Himself takes on the obligation to remember the covenant , all the more should the creature remember it for its own salvation. All covenants were made for the purpose of remembrance of what had happened earlier which was salutary in the past and also will be salutary in the future. The parable of the Prodigal Son in the New Testament (See Luke: 15: 11-32) is a classical example of how remembrance is life-transforming! The New Covenant instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper and enacted on the cross followed by resurrection was meant to be remembered till his second coming. This is accomplished in the Eucharistic Celebration throughout the world. In our daily lives we should remember what has been accomplished by our Savior Jesus Christ and join our daily little sacrifices to the sacrifice of Christ represented in the Holy Mass.
Conversion of Peter: The reaction of Peter on remembering the words of Christ about his denial at the cock crow was deep sorrow for what he had done. He took the responsibility of his denial and confronted the fact that all throughout he was presumptuous and careless. The response was manifested by Peter's going out and weeping bitterly. In weeping bitterly a childish peter was turned into a childlike follower of Christ. Here is a lesson for the true follower of Christ who wants to be his disciple: weep bitterly for your sins. It is no sham sorrow or any action meant to be exhibited before others. Peter himself went out of the gates of the chief priest's house and wept wholeheartedly before the spiritual presence of his Master. Although the Master was physically present before Peter, it was the spiritual presence of Jesus that helped him to weep and return to him. It was an experience Peter could never forget in his life and that steered forward his life from then on.
True Discipleship: When Jesus was condemned, Judas was seized with remorse and returned the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders and confessed to them saying: "I have sinned" (Matthew, 27: 3). Thus we can see the contrast between the two disciples Peter and Judas . Both of them returned to their masters in their hour of need; Peter to Jesus and Judas to the chief priests and elders. Although outwardly Judas too was a disciple of Jesus, inwardly and spiritually he was a disciple of chief priests and elders who plotted the death of Jesus. Here again we see an important mark of discipleship: that it should be internally and spiritually a discipleship of Jesus irrespective of its outward manifestations. Mere outward show and pretense will not be counted as true discipleship. The new masters of Judas were not going to help him in any way and they dissociated themselves from the fate that awaited him. "So he thew the money down in the temple and left them, and went and hanged himself" (Matthew, 27: 5). The desperation and helplessness of Judas led him to his utter destruction because he could not remember the goodness of Jesus. It is a lesson meant for us also when we are overwhelmed by our ambitions, greed, selfishness,insincerity, crookedness, etc., leading us away from remembering Jesus and what he has done for us.
Disciples by Chance: Some become disciples of Jesus as they are forced to follow him , so to say, because there is no other choice for them. Even they can become true disciples of Christ as was the case with Simon of Cyrene. He did not ask for the cross of Christ, but it was thrust upon him by the Roman soldiers. We read in Matthew 27: 32 thus " Then they led him away to be crucified. On their way out they met a man from Cyrene, Simon by name,and pressed him into service to carry his cross". In Mark there is a reference to the sons of Simon the Cyrene, namely, Alexander and Rufus which was omitted by both Matthew and Luke.(Mark, 15:21). It was probably because both Alexander and Rufus were well known disciples in the primitive Church of Rome from where the Gospel according to Mark was written. It shows how much the originally reluctant Simon to carry the cross of Jesus became a committed follower of Jesus by introducing also his sons to discipleship. It indicates to us that a true follower of Jesus will dedicate everyone and everything one has to the service of the Master. The circumstances or the past of a follower of Christ are of no consequence, whereas the future is all important. There is nothing to be proud of or ashamed of in becoming a disciple of Jesus. It is open to one and all without any prejudice to religion, caste, creed, language, sex, race, culture, etc.
There is a brief touching description of the women disciples of Jesus in Matthew, 27: 55-57: "A number of women were also present , watching from a distance; they had followed Jesus from Galilee and waited on him. Among them were Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee". From this account, the nature of the women followers is evident. They left everything to be with Jesus serving him and followed him to his cross. They did not serve Jesus for obtaining some benefits and that is why they were not disheartened even when he was arrested and crucified. Their faith in Jesus knew no measure, which made them brave enough to follow Jesus to the cross. (To be Contd).
Remembrance is Salutary: A cock turned out to be instrumental in the case of Peter for being pulled out of the edge of a great abyss he was about to fall into. See how God uses all creatures for our benefit, even for eternal salvation! However, the crucial point here is that Peter remembered what the Lord had earlier said , whereas Judas could not remember anything of the past. He was irrevocably caught up within the mess of his own life without daring to think back on his life with Jesus. He could not remember anything that could have saved him from his own folly by repentance and return to Jesus. The end-result was self-destruction borne out of desperation and fear of consequences of his actions.
Remembrance is salutary and has redeeming power as can be seen from the Bible. God Himself takes the initiative to remember His covenant with Noah by setting up a sign in the form of a rainbow. "This is the sign of the covenant which I make between myself and all that lives on earth" (Genesis, 9: 17). It is understood that if the Creator Himself takes on the obligation to remember the covenant , all the more should the creature remember it for its own salvation. All covenants were made for the purpose of remembrance of what had happened earlier which was salutary in the past and also will be salutary in the future. The parable of the Prodigal Son in the New Testament (See Luke: 15: 11-32) is a classical example of how remembrance is life-transforming! The New Covenant instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper and enacted on the cross followed by resurrection was meant to be remembered till his second coming. This is accomplished in the Eucharistic Celebration throughout the world. In our daily lives we should remember what has been accomplished by our Savior Jesus Christ and join our daily little sacrifices to the sacrifice of Christ represented in the Holy Mass.
Conversion of Peter: The reaction of Peter on remembering the words of Christ about his denial at the cock crow was deep sorrow for what he had done. He took the responsibility of his denial and confronted the fact that all throughout he was presumptuous and careless. The response was manifested by Peter's going out and weeping bitterly. In weeping bitterly a childish peter was turned into a childlike follower of Christ. Here is a lesson for the true follower of Christ who wants to be his disciple: weep bitterly for your sins. It is no sham sorrow or any action meant to be exhibited before others. Peter himself went out of the gates of the chief priest's house and wept wholeheartedly before the spiritual presence of his Master. Although the Master was physically present before Peter, it was the spiritual presence of Jesus that helped him to weep and return to him. It was an experience Peter could never forget in his life and that steered forward his life from then on.
True Discipleship: When Jesus was condemned, Judas was seized with remorse and returned the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders and confessed to them saying: "I have sinned" (Matthew, 27: 3). Thus we can see the contrast between the two disciples Peter and Judas . Both of them returned to their masters in their hour of need; Peter to Jesus and Judas to the chief priests and elders. Although outwardly Judas too was a disciple of Jesus, inwardly and spiritually he was a disciple of chief priests and elders who plotted the death of Jesus. Here again we see an important mark of discipleship: that it should be internally and spiritually a discipleship of Jesus irrespective of its outward manifestations. Mere outward show and pretense will not be counted as true discipleship. The new masters of Judas were not going to help him in any way and they dissociated themselves from the fate that awaited him. "So he thew the money down in the temple and left them, and went and hanged himself" (Matthew, 27: 5). The desperation and helplessness of Judas led him to his utter destruction because he could not remember the goodness of Jesus. It is a lesson meant for us also when we are overwhelmed by our ambitions, greed, selfishness,insincerity, crookedness, etc., leading us away from remembering Jesus and what he has done for us.
Disciples by Chance: Some become disciples of Jesus as they are forced to follow him , so to say, because there is no other choice for them. Even they can become true disciples of Christ as was the case with Simon of Cyrene. He did not ask for the cross of Christ, but it was thrust upon him by the Roman soldiers. We read in Matthew 27: 32 thus " Then they led him away to be crucified. On their way out they met a man from Cyrene, Simon by name,and pressed him into service to carry his cross". In Mark there is a reference to the sons of Simon the Cyrene, namely, Alexander and Rufus which was omitted by both Matthew and Luke.(Mark, 15:21). It was probably because both Alexander and Rufus were well known disciples in the primitive Church of Rome from where the Gospel according to Mark was written. It shows how much the originally reluctant Simon to carry the cross of Jesus became a committed follower of Jesus by introducing also his sons to discipleship. It indicates to us that a true follower of Jesus will dedicate everyone and everything one has to the service of the Master. The circumstances or the past of a follower of Christ are of no consequence, whereas the future is all important. There is nothing to be proud of or ashamed of in becoming a disciple of Jesus. It is open to one and all without any prejudice to religion, caste, creed, language, sex, race, culture, etc.
There is a brief touching description of the women disciples of Jesus in Matthew, 27: 55-57: "A number of women were also present , watching from a distance; they had followed Jesus from Galilee and waited on him. Among them were Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee". From this account, the nature of the women followers is evident. They left everything to be with Jesus serving him and followed him to his cross. They did not serve Jesus for obtaining some benefits and that is why they were not disheartened even when he was arrested and crucified. Their faith in Jesus knew no measure, which made them brave enough to follow Jesus to the cross. (To be Contd).
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