A vision for Regeneration: Making Disciples
I love reading biographies. I find them fascinating. They give us insight into the life of our favourite artists, musicians, activists, writers, and figures of history.
Why biographies are so fascinating is that people’s lives are interesting.
We want to read about them because we want to get to know what makes people tick.
Reading someone’s biography, particularly if it is someone you admire and would like to be more like can give you inspiration for your own life. Some biographies, not so much. I guess it depends who you are reading about. I’ve recently enjoyed reading about Vincent Van Gogh, Michelle Obama, and Karl Marx. Quite a random mix for sure, but all endlessly fascinating. All of these figures have been influential on our world in some way.
But there is one set of biographies that for Christians everywhere is essential reading.
That is the Gospels.
The accounts of the life of Jesus. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
But do we think of them as biographies often?
When we talk about the Gospel we are talking about the good news of Jesus. Often when we do so we focus on the Easter bit – his death and resurrection and all that this means for us – the fact that he has rescued us from sin and death by dying on the cross and rising again.
Amen to that.
The work of Jesus in his death, resurrection, and ascension is the heartbeat of the good news.
And we focus on the teachings of Jesus too. We hear him talking about loving our neighbours, being truthful, hospitable, and forgiving one another.
But what of his lifestyle?
If we aren’t careful, we can miss a whole lot of what being a Christian is about by missing the biography of Jesus.
Jesus calls us to come and follow him. This means acknowledging his saving work on the cross, following his teachings, and imitating his life.
This is what discipleship is about. It is about being an apprentice to Jesus. If we look closely at the biography of Jesus, the way he interacts with people, the love he shows, the way he prays, the way he eats. We see in all these a model of life in God’s kingdom.
Jesus gives a new pattern for humanity living in light of who God has made us to be. That’s why he says he hasn’t come to abolish the law but rather to fulfill it – in his life show us what human flourishing looks like.
Our current preaching series at St John’s is looking at the Bishop’s vision of regeneration for our Diocese, our Anglican Churches across our region.
At his Synod address last year Peter called us to “Regeneration through Making Disciples, Supporting Families, Strengthening Communities.” (slide).
Today we are focusing on the “making disciples” part of this vision.
And it all begins first and foremost with being disciples of Jesus. We can’t make disciples or apprentices of Jesus until we first learn to be apprenticed by Jesus ourselves. We see a picture of what this looks like painted for us by Jesus in the sermon on the Mount.
Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount gives the pattern for human flourishing – for a life lived in love of God and love of neighbour.
Today we read from Matthew chapter 5 v 13-20. We are going to focus on verse 13-16 and their implications for discipleship.
BEING A DISCIPLE: Following Jesus. Matthew 5:13-16
Jesus uses two metaphors to talk about life as an apprentice of Him.
He says that his apprentices are like salt and light.
He doesn’t tell them to be like salt and light. He says you are salt and light. This is his declaration, his pronouncement about all those who follow Him.
The big implication here is that being an apprentice of Jesus isn’t like joining a club for which you have to have a set of qualifications, or getting into a course which has multiple entry requirements. Being an apprentice of Jesus begins with him naming us salt and light. The first disciples are called (and some are given new names). We too are called and by God’s grace being an apprentice is learning to live into the calling that Jesus has given us.
“You Are” is the repeated refrain of Jesus.
Do we really hear him say that?
At times are we tempted to look over our should and say: ”Who me?”
Jesus calls his apprentices salt and light. What are these two images about?
SALT
In the book of Sirach, a book of Jewish wisdom teachings, salt is listed as one of the basic essentials for human life. In the ancient world salt was used for the preservation of food, as well as for flavouring. If we take these two elements together, providing flavour and preserving – both of them are beneficial and useful.
Apprentices of Jesus in other words are to make the world a better place.
Those who don’t are as Jesus says, salt that has lost its taste, the equivalent of water losing its wetness. It is a ridiculous image.
So ridiculous in fact, that it is of no use. So is an apprentice that doesn’t live out the way of Jesus.
For me this is where the apprentice language rather than the classic discipleship language helps me get it.
If I was an apprentice builder, I could watch the senior builders put up framing all day, I could read notes provided to me by the foreman and spend day after day on site. But if I couldn’t swing a hammer myself, I like unsalty salt, would be useless. I think this captures some of the sense of what Jesus is getting at.
LIGHT –
Jesus uses the metaphor of light, again to make his point.
Light is an important metaphor in the Bible. According to 1 John 1:5 “God is light.” In John’s Gospel Jesus is called “the light of the world.” (John 8:12). The Prophet Isaiah talks about the people who are sitting in darkness, seeing a great light.” (Isaiah 9:2). The people of God are called to be “a light to the nations” (Isaiah again), and Paul calls followers of Jesus “children of light (Ephesians 5:8, 1 Thess 5:5).
Light is associated with God, with Jesus, and with the people of God. This metaphor is used by Jesus to talk about his apprentices. Jesus declares that those who follow him are the light of the world.
What a calling indeed. Apprentices of Jesus are called to reflect the very light of God into the world around them. To be a glimpse of what God is like!
BEING DISTINCTIVE AND BEING “OUT THERE”
Jesus makes the point, that like unsalty salt, light that is hidden is useless.
There is this scene in the Lord of the Rings – Gandalf hands Frodo the ring of power, in which the destiny of all of middle Earth is held and says in harried whisper: “Keep it secret, keep it safe.”
Jesus knows that sometimes we are tempted to take the advice of Gandalf and live a Frodo like version of being a Christian.
We keep it, like the ring of power, tucked away in our pocket, not too obvious, not wanting to stand out or rock the boat. Keep it secret, keep it safe.
But this is very different from what Jesus encourages his disciples to do. Jesus invites them to let the light shine before others.
Both these images of salt and light highlight the need to be distinctive and “out there.”
J C Ryle. Talking of salt and light says:
“Surely, if words mean anything, we are meant to learn from these two metaphors that there must be something marked, distinct and special about our character if we are true Christians. It will never do to idle through life, thinking and living like others, if we mean to be owned by Christ as his people. Have we grace? Then it must be seen. Have we the Spirit? Then there must be fruit. Have we any saving religion? Then there must be a difference of habits, tastes and turn of mind, between us and those who think only of the world. It is perfectly clear that true Christianity is something more than being baptized and going to church. “Salt” and “light” evidently imply something special both in heart and life, in faith and practice. We must dare to be unusual and unlike the world if we mean to be saved.”[1]
Distinctiveness will draw attention both bad and good (this is the cost) and Jesus knows this, that is why in verse 11 he says: “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.”
It can be hard to shine the light and to stand out, but that is why we are called to follow Jesus together, as a community of apprentices
Often when we think of being the light, we might imagine something like this (pic of standalone lighthouse).
The isolated hero, living for Jesus.
But Jesus uses another image here of a city on a hill.
It makes me think of a whole series of lights together shining, like this (pic on slide of city lit up)
We are called to follow Jesus, to be his apprentices together. That’s why our sign out front reads “We are family following the way of Jesus.”
Jesus calls his disciples to stand out, but why?
Verse 16 makes it clear. Jesus says “so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” In other words to draw people into the worshipping community of apprentices of Jesus.
We are called to be distinctive, not so we look pious and good for our own sake. Jesus critiques ostentatious forms of prayer just a few verses later in Matthew 6:1 “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” There is a difference between self-aggrandizing religion and conspicuous goodness that blesses our communities.
The end in mind is that when we are true apprentices, our lives will draw others in to become apprentices too. When we learn to be disciples, we will make disciples naturally.
1 Peter 2:11-12
11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul. 12 Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honorable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge
The point, is reinforced by Peter – our good works are to draw others to God’s goodness so that he may be given glory.
So, what might it look like to be salt and light in our community? Well that’s up to us to work out together really.
Each of us are at different stages of our lives and have different gifts, talents, resources, and groups of friends and connections in our community. So, what it looks like isn’t one size fits all.
But I think a great question to ask is this:
Does our life/our story reflect Jesus?
If our lives were read like a biography, would people be drawn to Jesus? Would they see Jesus in us? Would they notice the distinctive “Jesusy flavour” of our lives? Loving those who make our life difficult, caring for the least, befriending the lonely, feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, showing hospitality, being truthful and gracious.
Being an apprentice of Jesus, being salt and light is the adventure of a lifetime. If we get stuck, the best place to go back to are the biographies of Jesus, to look at him, to see His love, the goodness, beauty, and truth of his teachings. To imitate his rhythms of prayer, hospitality and ministry to others.
Being a disciple and making disciples will mean gazing at Jesus and imitating Him so that when others look at us they will get a glimpse of his glory and goodness. Amen.
[1] J C Ryle, Crossway Classic Commentaries: Matthew