WHAT DOES IT MEAN TODAY TO FOLLOW JESUS?
by The Rev. Jenifer M. Chatafield
There are a lot of voices out there, some of them Christian some of them not Christian. There are a lot of voices telling us what we should think, what we should believe, who we should follow. There are a lot of voices out there that seek to divide and claim authority and power over the vulnerable and the weak. There are voices out there that tell us that in order to be successful we have to have certain things or do certain things. Some of these things may go against our moral character, and there are voices out there that will say and do anything simply for power, fame, or riches—where might makes right and where one’s humanity is thought to be better than another’s humanity by virtue of chance, luck and/or power. Are we forgetting that we all share the same DNA that makes us children of God; a DNA that carries the very breath of God calling us into being from the very beginning? I got a mass email from a very famous evangelical pastor who put out a call for Christians to pray for our nation and to pray that the aims of those who are “in the streets” trying to “destroy our nation” are “thwarted.” This was a disguised veil against the protesting that is going on right now in Minneapolis. On the other end of the spectrum, on the same day was an Episcopal Bishop telling the clergy of his diocese that we were entering into a “new age of martyrdom” and that as Christians we may have to put our bodies on the line to stick up for those who are defenseless. He advised clergy to get their wills and affairs in order, intimating that we had to put or lives on the line and that the world demanded a much more bold Christianity akin to the early church. Two very different Christian perspectives related to the happenings in Minnesota right now. When we are in the midst of a time where so many voices are hitting their peak decibels, as Christians we must always turn to the Gospels to listen to the voice that we are to truly follow.
What comes to mind for me is what Paul says to the congregation in Corinth. In his first letter to the Corinthians 1:10-18 Paul says,
“Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same purpose. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters. What I mean is that each of you says, “I belong to Paul,” or “I belong to Apollos,” or “I belong to Cephas,” or “I belong to Christ.” Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?”
We can plainly see that even in Paul’s time, at the beginning of the early church, there were disputes among the followers of Jesus in this congregation in Corinth. There was a dispute as to who to follow and what exactly to follow and it seems that there is some sort of power struggle in this Congregation and that some are substituting human leaders like Paul himself, or someone named Apollos, or Cephas, instead of following Christ. Paul emphasizes the point that it is Jesus whom we must follow and that that is the foundation of the church and what we are to keep at the forefront of our minds as Christians. According to Paul, it is only when we follow Jesus that we are united in mind and purpose. There are a lot of different voices in Christianity today and we see the difference being played out as events in our culture and politics. How do we discern what voice it is that we are to follow? This letter from Paul today is a directive to Christians about not following a cult of personality: not Paul himself, not Cephas, not Apollos, but we are to keep our focus on Jesus. How do we know the Jesus we are to follow? We have the Gospels. If there is ever a question on who to follow and what to believe as a Christian, read the Gospels and take note of what Jesus says and what Jesus does. The Gospels tell us the story about who to follow and how to follow. We follow the light we follow Jesus. We follow Jesus who points us the way to God, and who shows us how to live as children of God infused with the same DNA. We must always remember that God is more expansive than what we can imagine because we can’t perceive God in the fullest. That is why Jesus is here to show us how to perceive God in a much fuller way. Could it be that God may be trying to show us that there is more to ourselves, more to the human heart and more to the perception of the human mind than what we can perceive on our own? It is not about simply saying that we believe in Jesus or that we are trying to believe and hope one day to believe (although these are excellent places to start). Rather, the way to God is a journey of following Jesus. Remember in the Gospel of John Jesus is called the Way, and in fact early Christians were called “people of the Way,” so we travel the Way that leads to God. So who is the Jesus we follow who shows us the way? Once again, we have the Gospels and when we read them, when we actually see what Jesus says and does, this is where we start. What does Jesus do? Jesus teaches us about the Kingdom of God being so much more than we can imagine. But, this Kingdom is also God’s kingdom on earth—meaning we don’t just believe so we can go to heaven, but we are to live our lives in such a way in faith so that we can experience this kingdom on earth. God calls us to be more than we can perceive on our own. Jesus heals those who are untouchable; blind persons, women who are bleeding ( remembering that any kind of disability was seen as a curse and that blood was considered unclean), Jesus befriended the outcast—tax collectors, woman who may have been considered unclean, Samaritans who were shunned by the Pharisees, he fed the multitudes, he performed miracles to show that God’s power is more than we can ask for or imagine. Most importantly, Jesus died on the cross to show us that the worst of what humanity can do to a person, the torture and the abuse, is not the last word. The worst of humanity does not win and God’s power to restore life is ever present and more powerful than any cult of personality or King, or ruler or regime who persecutes others. Jesus points us to a God who transforms. Jesus is who we follow and the example of what it means to be a Christian. According to the Gospels, we follow the way of compassion, humility, healing, caring for the discarded, love and the willingness to have a change of heart. Are we following Jesus as Christians?
Psychologist and researcher Jonathan Haidt writes about something called “moral elevation” which in short describes the positive, warm feeling that we get when we see people doing beautiful or courageous things. When we witness compassion and goodness, this in turn inspires us to then be more altruistic and virtuous. Haidt’s study found that these types of acts encourage us to do more good deeds, and to better human beings ourselves. It is a positive way of looking at the world and to offer up an affirmation that goodness and compassion can spread. It becomes a contagion that we should all want to see infect humanity. However then we must then ask the question, “ If we can be morally informed and elevate our morality by this kind of witness to elevated behavior, then can we on the flipside also be informed by endless negativity, destruction, chaos, confusion, and the pulling apart of humanity? Unfortunately the answer to this question is most likely “yes.” As people become more and more exclusionary and welded to blaming and ostracizing others or using power in abusive ways that doesn’t take our common humanity into account we may become immune to the good.
We can have a fragmented world or we can have a world that is reconciled. Jesus helps us change our perspective by a kind of moral elevation. Jesus calls his disciples by saying to them “Follow Me.” The Gospels tell us that they drop everything and they follow. When the disciples follow Jesus, they ultimately become new people, with a new purpose and a new mission. Because they learn by following Jesus’ example. This does not mean that it was easy. In fact, following Jesus was risky, and it is still hard. We have to be aware that our perceptions may have to change, and many of us don’t like change. But everything that the disciples thought they knew changed, everything that they thought about life changed. They followed not knowing exactly where they were going and they couldn’t control it all. But here’s the thing—their hearts changed when they followed Jesus and they saw the world with a new perspective and that is what Jesus is calling us to do. Sometimes salvation, means being saved from ourselves and our own hard hearts and lack of a reconciled vision.
Paul calls the church to follow Jesus and to not get side-tracked by the drama of following false prophets or messiahs. Hearing the call to follow Jesus means we follow so we can heal the world not destroy it, so that we can heal relationships that are broken and not double down in self-righteous indignation. Hearing the call means taking a risk that might lead to change, but it also just may mean coming into our true identities as children of God. Isn’t that what we as Christians should want?
As professed Christians, we are called to be the church in the world; it was the same then at the time of Jesus as it is now—a world of pain, suffering, injustice and discord. But, it is also a world full of inspiration, love, compassion and courage. MORAL ELEVATION—it is contagious for our collective humanity so that we can build up and not destroy, love instead of hate, welcome instead of exclude, and offer balm instead of judgment. That is the voice we must listen for. This is the Jesus we follow.