September 18 - Following Jesus
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 69:1-23(24-30)31-38; PM Psalm 73: Esther 1:1-4,10-19 or Judith 4:1-15; Acts 17:1-15; John 12:36b-43
It’s September, which means my reading group is back at it. We are reading Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus, Become Like Him, Do as He Did by John Mark Comer. Comer gives language to something many of us have come to realize but perhaps have not articulated as clearly: our faith is expressed in how we live. Following Jesus is not only about believing certain things; it is about practicing what Jesus taught and learning to live as he lived. And you can’t just do it because you believe something. Just like learning to run a marathon, practice helps turn you into the person you are trying to become.
Comer begins by exploring the call narratives in the first chapter of Mark, where Jesus invites his first disciples, “Come, follow me.” Comer places this invitation within the world of Jewish education and apprenticeship. These fishermen were not the obvious candidates to become a rabbi’s disciples, yet Jesus chose them. He gave them an invitation they may once have dreamed of receiving: to leave their old lives behind and become apprentices in the rabbi’s way of life, something that had only been open to the very best and brightest in their culture.
Makes a little more sense why they would leave everything behind.
Comer also reminds us that every one of us is being shaped and formed. Culture, family of origin, news, social media, friends, and countless other influences teach us what to value and how to see the world. Social-media platforms are so incredibly profitable precisely because our attention can be captured and our desires and beliefs influenced. None of us lives outside these formative forces.
Choosing to follow Jesus, then, is a decision to be formed differently. That is part of what it means to become a disciple.
We can see this struggle over formation in today’s reading from Acts. Paul and Silas arrive in Thessalonica, where Paul reasons from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah. Some people are persuaded, but others respond with jealousy, gather a crowd, and stir the city into an uproar. The people of Berea respond differently. They receive the message eagerly and examine the Scriptures daily to see whether what Paul is saying is true.
I love the balance we see in the Bereans. They are a probably a model for our faith, and if it we take it seriously it can be pretty disruptive. “These people who have been turning the world upside down have come here also!” Wouldn’t it be great if people said the same about us!
Perhaps that is one way we practice the way of Jesus today. We pay attention to what is forming us. We receive the good news with open hearts, return to Scripture with open minds, and allow the Spirit to reshape our lives. The question is not whether we are being formed, but by whom—and into what kind of people.
What is shaping the way you see the world today? And what daily practices are helping you become more like Jesus?
Faithfully,
John+