Outward Appearances

 Outward Appearance

 

Before the most recent lockdown,

my hope was to focus on Discipleship from the beginning of the year, through to Easter.

Discipleship is really about the ongoing decision to follow the Ways of Jesus; to shape your life and decisions and values around His teaching and encouragement.

 

I think it emerged as a theme last year, during or after another period of set apart days, when with almost all of the infrastructure of familiar parish life temporarily dismantled, I thought a lot about how people were managing to follow on after God, without the usual Christian routines.  

 

Yes, Jesus tells us to go to our room and close the door and pray to our Father who is in Heaven; but I suspect for many, including me, we have become used to Church services, meetings and parish events to help us keep going with God.

I wondered how hard or easy has it been for those who do want to grow in their faith,

to keep going without the norms.

We are told after all ‘not to give up meeting together.’ Hebrews 18

 

Discipleship is about being a disciple of Jesus. We once came across the great phrase, of ‘disciples are those who are covered in the dust of their Rabbi.’ In other words, staying close enough to Jesus, to be influenced and shaped by Him. And although there are many very good reasons why people haven’t gathered as Church, even when allowed, I can’t help wonder why so few who might have gathered, chose not to.

It has been a significant struggle during these months to gather for Fellowship at all.

One Quiet evening was cancelled through lack of interest.

Bible study attendance dropped to three people.

The reading group was only ever in single figures.

In all conscience I cannot ignore that I sometimes send out requests for prayer and get few replies. Or that there have been zero requests for this year’s Lent reading.

One colleague even asked me this week, where we have gone wrong.

Before someone tells me not to be ungrateful for what I have, I turn to a Gospel reading someone shared recently with me.

Jesus knew His disciples were grumbling, and He addresses the issue with them.

‘“Does this offend you? Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” St John 6

 

Jesus places His finger exactly on the issue. Life. Church life, Spiritual life and Discipleship are not sustained or forwarded by the flesh, i.e. our efforts. And nor can they be measured in earthly terms. Ministries which mushroom quickly are as likely to diminish quickly, if they are only held together by human effort, no matter how attractive they might seem.

 

Jesus simply states that it is the Spirit who gives life… 

and for Jesus He means life in all its fullness.

This is where I must notice all of those earthly occasions when I am pleased by numbers and attendance and counting how many were there. It may outwardly look well, 

but as the Lord told Israel’s final Judge, Samuel, when looking for a king,


‘“Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.

The Lord does not look at the things people look at.

People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”’ 1 Samuel 16:17

 

And perhaps that is the most difficult part of ministry and discipleship and Church life. And in today’s reading from St Mark, Jesus teaching shows the very heart of Discipleship; it is not about the outward success, or in fact the seemingly illusive nature of it, but rather in the ongoing denial of the outward, and the commitment to make sacrifices for the sake of Christ.

 

Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves

and take up their cross and follow me.

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it,

but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.

 

How often I have got it wrong; new buildings, fresh noticeboards, more current worship songs, new programmes are not the heart of Discipleship. 


Rather, many deserted Jesus, because he asked them to entrust themselves to Him, to His ways, and to a life of following Him.  

Many of us have been on the road with Jesus now for a very long time, but there are days when it is still possible to be distracted by bright lights in other places.   

I cannot put it as forcefully as St Mark, but he records a very significant moment when Jesus reminds all would follow after Him, what the cost in following Him really would be.

‘Jesus then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, 

and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. 

“Get behind me, Satan!” he said. 

“You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”



Perhaps the lesson of this day, is to be reminded yet again of the Way of the Cross which Jesus took for us, and the path of discipleship which we are privileged to be on.

Perhaps the only appropriate response was the one Abram had,

when God called Him to follow on faithfully.


When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said,

“I am God Almighty]; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.

Abram fell facedown.

 

I really do have much still to learn. Amen.

 

St Mark 8:31-38

He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their life[b] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

 

Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty[a]; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. 2 Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”

3 Abram fell facedown,' 

 

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