Jesus’ way is not the easy way. As Jesus states clearly in Luke 9:23, “Anyone who wishes to follow me must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me.” This is certainly not an easy teaching, and it requires much of us!
According to Fr. Robert Kosek, CRSP, “A person might avoid mortal sin but choose daily comfort over generosity. They might never speak openly harsh words, yet never learn patience and gentleness. They can maintain external order while living internally in distraction, rushing, and spiritual coldness.” Are they true followers of Jesus or just admirers?
Are you only an admirer of Jesus?
Admirers are those who admire and respect Jesus and what He teaches, but that is as far as it goes. When one of His teachings causes trouble, they step back, because they never signed on for the cost that comes with being a true follower. An admirer doesn’t make the life-changing commitment that a follower does.
Jesus had many admirers until He gave His Bread of Life Discourse in John 6:35-66. “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him (66).” Jesus doesn’t ask for admirers. He didn’t soften His discourse in order to retain those unwilling to move from admirer to follower. He wants committed followers.
Are you a check-the-box Catholic?
Admirers who identify as Catholics can fall into the trap of becoming “check-the-box Catholics.” They may remember to pray, especially when life gets tough and options are few. But Jesus never asked for admirers. He wants followers.
These Catholics may attend Mass every week (check), go to reconciliation at least once a year (check), receive Eucharist at least once a year during the Easter season (check), believe what is proclaimed in the Mass (check), try to pray when they have time (check), regularly drop an offering in the collection basket (check), and sincerely try to live a good life (check).
Earning these check marks is necessary, but it is not sufficient for receiving salvation. Just earning the check marks makes us more like admirers than true followers of Jesus. Jesus requires that we move beyond the check marks to becoming true followers.
Jesus on Discipleship
In Matthew 25, Jesus talks about who will be welcomed into His kingdom and who will be turned away:
Then they will ask him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison and not minister to you?” He will answer them, “Amen, I say to you, whatever you failed to do for one of the least of these brethren of mine, you failed to do for me.” […] Then he will say to those on his left, “Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you did not give me anything to eat; I was thirsty and you did not give me anything to drink; I was a stranger and you did not welcome me; I was naked and you did not give me any clothing; I was ill and in prison and you did not visit me.” And they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous will enter eternal life. (Mt. 25:37-46)
Jesus’ disciples modeled what it means to be a follower of Jesus. They apprenticed under Him, traveled with Him, memorized His teachings, and emulated His lifestyle and actions in order to become exactly like Him.
A Follower of Jesus in Today’s World
So what does a follower of Jesus look like in today’s world? The answer is much the same as it would have been 2,000 years ago. Followers don’t pick and choose which teachings they like and ignore or alter those they don’t like. They don’t simply check boxes. They faithfully try to live according to all of Jesus’ teachings.
Many people embrace the world’s view that Jesus sometimes didn’t mean what He said, and that He would want all people to be tolerant and accepting of others, even when those actions and beliefs are directly opposed to what Jesus said. What Jesus would want from His followers would be to speak His truth when asked about any of the moral issues that are prevalent today, even if it makes us uncomfortable and/or brings unpleasant comments and hatred for us. Jesus wants us to become followers, indeed disciples, willing to accept the results or reactions that come with that.
St. Thomas Aquinas’ View of Discipleship
St. Thomas Aquinas saw discipleship as “being an entirely devoted student of Jesus Christ. One of Thomas’ theological principles was that everything Jesus said and did was meant for our imitation and instruction. In the time of Jesus, a disciple did not just learn from but learned to be like their teacher” (Ponton, 2017). The Apostles lived and preached this understanding of discipleship, as St. Paul writes in Thessalonians 3:9, “We wanted to present ourselves as a model for you, so that you might imitate us.”
Aquinas saw it was necessary for a person to be a student of scripture and become familiar with Jesus’ words and actions by reading and studying the Bible. He also believed that prayer had a primary place in the life of a disciple. As many other saints did, Mother Teresa of Calcutta included, Aquinas never cut short his prayer time in order to write or do good works. The grace necessary for him, Mother Teresa, and others came from beginning their day with prayer and the Mass.
St. Thomas also believed that there is a need of a love for truth. This need is especially obvious today when so many people define their own “truth”!
How to Honestly Assess Ourselves
As Catholics, we ought to read the Bible daily, listen to it read and preached at Mass, and better understand its meaning from learned individuals and Scriptural tools available to us. But for what purpose? We could memorize every word of Sacred Scripture, but unless we internalize what we read, we are still not true followers of Jesus—we are merely experts of Sacred Scripture in the way we could become experts in the authoritative books about building houses. How useful is this knowledge if it is not put into practice?
Being an expert in what Jesus and His disciples preached and did is necessary but insufficient to being a follower of Christ. We don’t bring people to Jesus by our words only. As St. Paul taught, it is how we live our discipleship that gets people interested in having what we have—joy in the knowledge and living of our Faith.
Thus, we must examine our lives to gain insight into what kind of Christian we really are: admirers or true followers of Jesus. Some questions to ask ourselves are:
- Do I pray often—not just when it is convenient?
- Do I seek to understand what Jesus would want me to do in difficult situations?
- Do I forgive others who hurt me, even when they are not sorry?
- Do I seek to understand the needs of others and provide assistance as I am able?
- Am I willing to see people I thought were my friends turn their backs on me and walk away because I won’t participate in or agree with something that I know is wrong?
An old saying asks: If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?
We should take a few minutes every day to examine our lives. Were we admirers of Jesus or were we His followers and true disciples today? Given where you are right now, should God call you to His heavenly homeland today, is there enough evidence for Jesus to know you?
Image from Wikimedia Commons
