Screen Door
“You want to be like a cat on a screen door.” I looked blankly at my mentor. I tried to imagine a cat hanging for its life on a screen door. It seemed uncomfortable. He saw that he had my attention. Then he explained, “Every time they open the front door, they'll see you waiting for them. That’s how intentional you want to be in showing up to the people who matter to you.”
Mark 3:13-19
He went up the mountain and called to himself those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve so that they would be with him, so that he would send them out to preach, and to have authority to cast out demons. He appointed the twelve: Simon (he gave him the name Peter), James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (he gave them the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder), Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
It’s not “a” mountain but “the” mountain. If you live in Seattle, you’re talking about Mt. Rainier. For Mark's readers, he's alluding to Mt. Sinai, where God gives Moses the Torah. Mark is showing us that Jesus is God, reconstituting his people by calling Twelve to himself like Moses gathered twelve tribes to form Israel. A friend recently explained to me that if every disciple of Jesus discipled another person, and then both of them discipled someone else, and so on, we could reach the whole world in one generation. I asked: "So, why haven't we done it already?" The answer is that the pace and progress of discipleship is not something we can orchestrate. Transformation takes place on God's timeline, at his initiative. The basic idea of religion is that if we do or think or say the right things, we can get God to bless us. The heart of Jesus is to want a relationship with us, and to call us to be with him. His invitation and his friendship come before we participate in his mission with his power. We would never expect God to show up at our front door, nor to invite himself in, but he loves us. Discipleship isn't a way to make our religion great, but a response to grace. Nor is discipleship an individual effort. When I started a campus ministry in Boston, I studied numerous discipleship resources. They emphasized one-on-one meetings, or small triads. Soon, I was meeting with a couple dozen students, one at a time. I felt exhausted. What if I had gathered them together and taught them to love one another? God is forming more than friends. He's building communities where we imitate his example as a group. I needed to understand that Jesus appointed Twelve, together. Nor is discipleship limited to the spiritual realm. Jesus gives the Twelve authority to cast out demons, and the global church's stories of liberation give me hope. But the devil's work includes poverty, substance abuse, political corruption, unrestrained greed, racism, and sexism. We won't bring everyone to Christ or end all evil. But when we stay close to Jesus, his light shines through us, and drives the darkness away. So why does Jesus invite Judas? It shows us that God loves his enemies and that his grace pursues rebels. Jesus wasn't surprised when Judas betrayed him. But it also sets our expectations for Christian friendship. Some of the people we count on to follow Jesus with us are only in it for themselves. The cost will be high, and Jesus knows what it’s like. Even as God invites us to be friends with him and each other, we can expect sabotage from unlikely people. I tried the cat on the screen door approach. People thought it was annoying. But I've learned that Jesus always wants to be with me, he is bringing me close to those he's chosen, and he is the one who sends us out in mission.
Jesus chose the Twelve to be 'with him' before he sent them. What does this tell you about Jesus?
Have you experienced belonging to a community that helped you be more like Jesus?
Following Jesus might mean becoming friends with someone who betrays us. How has betrayal kept you from reaching out to new friends?
Think of three people who have taught you what it means to follow Jesus. What's one lesson you've learned from each of their lives? Then sit with Jesus, and ask him to help you imitate their example.