10/25/2018 1 Comment Why did he choose those disciples?When you imagine Jesus calling the disciples, what do you picture? For much of my life, I imagined Jesus approaching a couple of 35-year-old men out on a boat fishing and asking them to come follow Him. I imagined that the tax collector, Matthew, looked much like the man whom my parents took their taxes to, middle-aged and balding. And from the religious art casually shown to me as a child in books and in our bulletin I believed that "middle-aged" men might be a generous age bracket; Peter is often depicted with grey hair and a beard, from those images, old men might be a better description. Last night, in her talk Leah told the kids that Jesus called sinners, He called fishermen, and tax collectors, a zealot, and even a teenager. When she said that, I was reminded of something my New Testament professor told us in my undergrad program: It is likely that all of the disciples, with the exception of Peter, were teenagers. Where is that in the Bible? you may be asking, and rightly so, because it is never explicitly stated. However, there are several indicators in scripture, in the tradition of our church, and in the context of their time. I don't want to make this post too long, but if you're curious about why I say this send me an email or give me a call and we'll chat. So, why is their age important? To point out that the people Jesus chose to follow Him were not what we might imagine and we can learn something about Jesus by knowing why he picked them. So, why would Jesus have chosen teens, not much older than some of the eighth graders in our program, to be his followers? Why would he have chosen teenagers to be the people to carry out His mission, to build His church, to bring about the Kingdom of God? People much more qualified than I am have probably given really fantastic answers to this question, but in my humble opinion, I think it's firstly because teenagers are naturally seekers. Teenagers are naturally inclined to challenge and to question. Maybe this hasn't always seemed like a positive thing (if you are a parent or teacher of teens). It's hard to be challenged and to be fought with, it's exhausting to try to reason with someone who just wants to keep asking you why something is. But I think this is exactly why Jesus chose them to be His disciples. Jesus wanted people who had questions because it means that they are actively looking for God. Secondly, I think Jesus wanted teens to be His disciples because teenagers are passionate, because they are emotional. It's simply a matter of biology, between the hormones and the frontal cortex development that is happening in that stage of life, teens are full of emotions. Maybe this doesn't seem like such a great thing either, if you are living with a teen whose emotions seem to be running rampant; making them impulsive and moody, making them angry or sad. But I believe that this, too, is a reason that Jesus chose them. In Revelation (3:15-16) Jesus says "I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot... So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth." Teens are rarely lukewarm (it seems to me, at least). They may be wrong (or they may be right) but they are passionate and they are willing to fight for what they believe. The last thing I'd like to comment on about teens is their hunger for love and for affirmation. In teaching and in parish life, I am always struck by how desperately teens want to be loved, by how important it is for them to be seen and to be heard. I wouldn't necessarily say we grow out of that desire to be loved, but it seems that adults learn to cope with not having that desire filled. Why does their desire to be loved make them the perfect candidates for his disciples? Because God is Love (John 4:16). He is the perfect fulfillment of that longing to be loved and to be known. Of course someone who is love would want to be surrounded by people who need that and are eager to receive that. Then once he has filled them up with that love, He can send them out to share it with others. He does that within the Gospels by sending them into towns and He also commissions them to build a church that functions that way when he ascends into heaven. So, why did I write about teens this week? In part, I chose this topic to tell you the kind of people we are hoping your children are learning to be in our program. I hope that your children become challengers and seekers, become passionate and emotional, and become people who long for the love of God (some of them already seem to be) and through that, I pray they come to know Jesus. I also hope if you are struggling with your teen at home that you can see some of those things as qualities that Jesus would choose in a disciple and feel a bit of hope. But more importantly, I chose this topic because it challenged me this week. It challenged me to look at my life and see if I am the type of person Jesus would choose to be His disciple today. Have I stopped seeking Him? Have I stopped asking questions with no easy answer? Am I passive about the things happening in the world around me? Am I still longing for the love of God or have I tried to fill that with something else? While I have grown in some ways in my faith life, I have also regressed in other ways (especially looking at those characteristics above). There are things in each of those areas that I am praying God will give me an openness to. I won't bore you with the details of my self-reflection, but I invite you this week to take some time and reflect on you faith journey with Christ. May the Lord bless you this week, may He meet you where you are and may you, with your whole heart, respond 'yes' to His call to follow Him. Peace, Michaela
1 Comment
Leah Kondes
10/26/2018 04:24:52 am
Amen!
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