Thought Series | The moral demand of discipleship

Discipleship in our modern world demands bravery to follow Christ. Headlines declare the decline of Christianity; many live-in name alone, unwilling to pick up their cross, while others publicly reject their baptismal identity altogether. Inspiring people to live the gospel values is challenging, often faced with apathy or rejection, even from nominal Christians. Yet, discipleship invites us beyond the safety of our faith community. We are sent to the ends of the earth, to share the love of God on ears who have neither heard nor experienced the power of the Word. This mission is entrusted to us because, as the saying goes, “love is a universal language all people understand in their hearts.”[1]

Discipleships begins with the proclamation of the Good News. After every Mass we sometimes hear the dismissal “Go out and preach the Gospel,” a timeless commission echoing Jesus’ command: “go out baptising every nation in the name of the Father… Son… and Holy Spirit.” Yet, what is this Good News? In both the 1^st century and our own, it answers the same human longing of life after death and that God loves us regardless of our deficiencies. Mark’s Gospel (1:17) summaries this as the kingdom of God has come near. This Kingdom being one of love and life with God, those two main points highlighted. 

Before a disciple can proclaim the Good News, they must be transformed by it. Discipleship is not a mere repetition of words but a response to the personal invitation of Christ: “Come, follow me.” We learn from the Gospel that Jesus miraculously fed a crowd from a few loaves and some fish, and that he instructed the ignorant and healed the sick. Jesus does not expect us to match his efforts for this would be impossible yet nonetheless, we are invited to follow in his ways.

At the core of discipleship is a moral commitment. The baptismal renewal at Easter challenges us: “Do you reject Satan and all his works?” To proclaim Jesus Christ requires a deliberate choice to live in opposition to evil and to pursue good. The word moral, rooted in the Latin morales and Greek ethos, signifies “the good life.”[2] Reflecting on Jesus’ ministry reveals that this good life is not abstract but relational. He ministered to the social, physical and emotional needs of those he encountered, showing kindness even when met with humiliation: “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?” sneered the crowd, before driving him out of their presence. The good life therefore involves more than just offering a handout, it demands extending kindness to those relationships who directly oppose us.

The call to discipleship is a commitment to the path that Jesus has set before us. Through both his command to proclaim the Gospel and his personal invitation to “follow me,” Jesus draws us into a deeply personal and transformative relationship with him. To be a disciple is to be in union with God through Jesus, and from this union flows our vocation to love. Discipleship is not limited to avoiding sin, feeding the hungry nor repeating doctrinal truth sentences; it is ultimately about building a community of love. Created in the image and likeness of God, we are, as Aquinas teaches, not closed off nor self-sufficient individuals, but creatures designed to be receptive to God and open to the goodness that flows from him.[3] Since we are inherently relational, our relationship with God extends beyond this private affair – it calls us out into the broader community to instruct and serve because we find fulfilment not in isolation, but in communion. In doing so, we fulfil Jesus’ ultimate wish: “love one another as I have loved you.” This command extends to all people regardless of who they are and where they stand in society. This is the heart of discipleship – the moral life rooted in love, lived in relationship.

FURTHER READING 

For a similar reflection on discipleship, click the link below

• The challenges of discipleship in a modern world

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[1] Lamoureux, Patrricia, and Paul J. Wadell, The Christian Moral Life: Faithful Discipleship for a Global Society (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2010), 3.

[2] Christian Morality : An Interdisciplinary Framework for Thinking about Contemporary Moral Issues, edited by Geoffrey W. Sutton, and Brandon Schmidly (Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2016), 16.

[3] Aquinas,Summa Theologiae, trans.Thomas Gilby (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1964), Ia, q.9, art.2.

Thought Series | The Fuel to Christian Mission

Baptism initiates a person into the Christian life. From the moment of baptism, every Christian assumes the duty to preach the Good News – that is to say, to make God known to others. This mandate is instituted by Christ in scripture and affirmed by the teaching authority of the Church.[1] In its Decree on the Mission Activity of the Church, Vatican II employs the term “mission” specifically to denote the task of giving witness to the Good News through preaching theGospel and planting the Church among peoples or groups who do not yet believe.[2]

While Christians are called to preach and propagate the Gospel, our mission also includes standing for moral truths essential for individual and collective flourishment intended by God, even when these truths are rejected by the prevailing culture. In a society increasingly disengaged from liturgical worship and Christian doctrinal and moral truths – favouring instead a thirst for conspiracy and environmentalism with no real regard for true ecology – it seems that the true sense of mission is lost.

The Latin maxim Nemo dat quad non habet (“no one gives what he does not have”) captures a fundamental principle: you cannot offer to others that you yourself lack. A slightly different yet more quoted variant is “you cannot pour from an empty cup.”

Although a Christian receives the indelible character and gifts of the Holy Spirit at Baptism, the missionary activity of the Christian is largely ineffective if there is no love for God in his heart, for baptism is the beginning of faith and faith is deepened through love. What is absent in a heart without this “love which gives meaning to our lives” is not merely the accidents[3] or sentiments of love, but the possession of the very object of love who is God himself. Without this love, the Christian person cannot give what he lacks.

Love of God is found upon and built on prayer. As God is not found in external objects and is yearned for in the interior of one’s heart – sometimes misconstrued for in objects or idolatry practices – prayer is the only place in which God is revealed. Prayer allows God to begin an encounter with the person who seeks him, deepening that encounter with the one who persists and trusts in the presence of God in the power of prayer. We see this in Jesus' own person who saw the necessity of prayer to deepening a relationship with God. Nine times alone scripture references Jesus retreating to be alone with the Father.

It is because of prayer that Christians can speak to others about God because through prayer God makes himself present, teaching us how to be loved and to love him in return.[4] St Thomas Aquinas tells us that the purpose of prayer is to be disposed to be received from God the things he wills to give which includes Knowledge of himself. As knowledge of the uncreated one cannot be found through systematic experimentation, God knowledge is discovered only if God so wills to share with us what he knows of himself and since this is undiscovered through rational inquiry, prayer is the place to discover God.

God wants us to make him known to others, and this is primarily the task of mission. However, we cannot make God known to others if we do not know him. While prayer is the place to grow in love of God and propels us into the world to serve, it is also the place in which we encounter God and learn from him. It is precisely the reason why we pray, to gain knowledge of the one who loved us first so that we may love him in return. Actively participating in the missionary works of the Church is the outward sign of love of God. 

Missionary work is not limited to just propagating what the Church teaches. We must take action to support what we profess. The maxim "Put your money where your mouth is" precisely reflects this idea, challenging us to demonstrate what we believe through concrete action – or keep silent. At the heart of Jesus’ teaching ministry was mercy, and in every case, he embodied what he taught. "Neither do I condemn you; go, and do not sin again" were his words to the woman caught in adultery - words that reflected his teachings on the Father's Mercy. So, while prayer teaches us to know God and build our relationship with him, it shapes our disposition and how we live in the world. It forms us into virtuous agents who not only proclaim the truth but live it, allowing us to testify to the reality of God in mission.

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[1] Evangelii Gaudium, no. 8.

[2] Ad Gentes , no. 6.

[3] By accident I mean the property predicated of a thing.

[4] Crossing the Threshold of Hope, John Paul II.