Holyrood Church 715 West 179 Street, Upper West side Manhattan, USA, 212-923-3770

A discipleship of service

*A Discipleship of service*

Good morning, happy Friday, and blessings.
 
In today's Gospel (John ‪21:15-19‬) we are told about the opportunity that Jesus gives Peter to recover his discipleship. Let’s be clear, discipleship is costly. The Scriptures are clear that to be a disciple in the fullest sense of the term means that a person must pay a price. If the conditions of discipleship are also conditions of salvation, then every Christian is, by definition, a disciple, and salvation, by definition, is costly.
 
Let's have a quick reminder about who is here at this impromptu beachside breakfast. Nathanael, Thomas, the Sons of Zebedee, and two unnamed disciples had all gone fishing together. Simon Peter was there, too. In fact, this whole fishing trip had been his idea. Simon Peter has struggled greatly since Jesus was arrested. Through the last several chapters of the book of John, we have seen the man who once was willing to literally fight for Jesus' freedom quickly become the man who denied being one of Jesus' disciples. Three times he was asked if he was one of Jesus' followers. Three times he denied his own discipleship. I really can't imagine quite what that felt like. I imagine it's some mix of fear, with a little hopelessness and shame mixed in. And, now, even though he was one of the first to see the empty tomb and he was present when Jesus appeared to the disciples behind closed doors, rebuilding them as the new Body of Christ for the world, Simon Peter still seemed to need help rebuilding what was lost when he denied his discipleship. Jesus seems to know that three questions once knocked Peter down. He's going to use three questions to build him back up.  
 
With these three questions that Peter has now answered affirmatively, Jesus has fully restored Peter to the Body of Christ, allowing him to actively reclaim his discipleship. And, importantly, Jesus outlines what discipleship, that is, following him, actually looks like in this post-resurrection world.  Scholars helpfully outline a couple aspects of discipleship.
 
As I have said before, one thing that discipleship means is that you must be willing to be at odds with the dominant culture, even if that puts you in danger. Remember that there is a part of the Gospel where Jesus said that all of his followers must be willing to take up their cross and hold dear the things he held dear, that is, loving God and loving neighbor. Secondly, Discipleship also probably has something to do with following Jesus' actions after the resurrection, that is, modeling his reconnection with God through the ascension (which we haven't read about yet) by rebuilding our own relationship with God.
 
This reconnection to God often seems to take place by turning our primary concern outward, beyond our own needs, towards our neighbor's needs and towards praising God. For Peter, in particular, and all of us who have felt like we have been overwhelmed by our call to discipleship, this encounter also means trusting that we can be restored to the Body of Christ when we falter and that we will be able to participate, even lead, in this new era of discipleship, despite the fact that we were once afraid of Jesus' calling. Can you think of a real world example of this kind of discipleship? However, there is only one kind of grace, and by definition it is absolutely free! The only sense in which salvation is costly is in the fact that Jesus Christ paid the supreme price, His life, for the sinner’s redemption. We’re servant disciples by God’s grace.
 
Blessings

Fr. Luis+

Date news: 
Friday, May 29, 2020 - 14:00

Ministry at the time of Coronavirus (Covid 19): Prevent, cure and accompany

Now we have to shape what some have started calling; The Church at Home. Although I keep asking myself; What do those who do not have a home do? For this reason, at the same time, I am declaring today in our Holyrood Church a Lenten day of prayer, fasting and reading the Bible in the Time of the Coronavirus.

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