When you are going to go swimming are you the kind who dives right in or do you test the water with you toe first? Although there were plungers when it comes to faith (St. Paul comes to mind) the gradual approach – toe, wade in up to the waist, finally sticking your head under — seems to characterize how people came to follow Jesus, at least according to St. John’s gospel. They didn’t dive in all at once and immediately pledge their lives over to him. Rather, they got to know him, came to love him and gradually they learned to follow him. St. John describes a four-step process in becoming a disciple of Jesus.
First, they are kind of interested in who this Jesus is and what he is all about. “Behold, the Lamb of God,” said John the Baptist. So the first followers came to Jesus because he seemed intriguing. Maybe he would do something which would help them – say a word of healing perhaps. Or maybe something which would enlighten them – give a sermon that inspired them. But for whatever reason, there were people who followed Jesus. Jesus then challenged them to take the next step, to come to another level of understanding about what it means to be a follower. He asked them, “What are you looking for?” To respond to that question you can’t just sit back and watch what is going on. You have to engage by finding some kind of connection with your own heart’s desire and what Jesus was about. If they said something like: “I’m looking for lots of money; I’m looking for a life of ease; I’m looking for no more problems,” you can imagine Jesus telling them they’d better look somewhere else. But if they answered: “I’m looking for happiness; I’m looking for peace; I’m looking for love,” Jesus could say “You’ve come to the right place.” So the second step a disciple has to respond to the presence of Jesus by making a connection between one’s own life and the life he invites us to consider. The next step into deeper water happens when our Lord says to those interested in him: “Come and you will see.” No longer can they just think about things, no longer can they respond merely in theory, they have to go out of themselves, leave the familiar and comfortable and get involved in what Jesus is doing. They commit themselves. The final step, when you finally go in over your head, is captured in the word Jesus addresses to Simon, son of John: “You will be called Cephas – which is translated Peter” or we would say Rocky. Those who go all the way with Jesus are given a new identity, a new way of understanding themselves and the world. No longer do they get their values from the people around them. Those who throw themselves completely into the life of a follower of Jesus learn to see things as he sees them, to do the things he wants them to do, to act in ways that reflect his presence in their hearts. It is these great disciples, like Simon now called Peter and Andrew and the rest who become the core of the ministry of Jesus and who eventually carry his mission forward.
This four-fold pattern of entering ever more deeply into a life of discipleship with Jesus is replicated in our lives. At different points and in different ways we are like those first disciples. At times we are merely cautious, intrigued at the gospel life but keeping it at arm’s length. We watch. We listen. We wait. What does it mean that “the Lamb of God” dwells in our midst? Later, more personal questions have to be answered that connect us with the faith. My life and Jesus’ word seem to fit. And this just doesn’t involve me as an individual. We start to see in the people around us fellow disciples of Jesus. Yes, we are all weak and fallible human beings but together we are connected because of Jesus. Wade farther in and eventually one is led to a deepening of commitment. It is not enough to like and admire Jesus, I need to take respond to him. I change how I behave. I pray. I get involved in different ministries. I attend church. Those who are committed to the church of Christ see that their following of Jesus is not a Sunday thing, not a part-time thing, but something which requires an investment of themselves. But even that level of commitment does not suffice. Like Peter, like Andrew they don’t want to enjoy what they have in Jesus just for themselves. No, they want to spread the message, to share the word. They feel commissioned to bring others to know what they know – that a life of following Jesus is the best of all possible existences.
Church, as we begin this new year, we should assess where we are. Are we merely dipping our toes into faith or have we plunged in all the way? A resolution for this new year might be: in the course of this year I am going to go one level deeper in my life as a disciple of Jesus. If we find ourselves among the cautious, just sitting back and observing, make a new connection to deepen faith. Once you do feel connected become committed – get to know people, pray together, contribute to the support of the church, reach out to those who are in need. And the committed are commissioned to spread good news to the people woven into the providence of their everyday life. How can they use the gifts God has given them to bring about the kingdom of God? How can make Jesus come alive in my world? Moving from being curious, to connected, to committed, to commissioned will make our church prosper and grow.
