Daily Retreat 07/04/06
2006 Jul 4 Tue: Ordinary Weekday/ Elizabeth of Portugal, mw
Am 3: 1-8; 4: 11-12/ Ps 5: 4b-6a. 6b-7. 8/ Mt 8: 23-27
Am 3: 1-8; 4: 11-12/ Ps 5: 4b-6a. 6b-7. 8/ Mt 8: 23-27
From todays readings: Hear this word, O children of Israel.... Lead me in Your justice, Lord.... Lord, save us! We are perishing!
The Disciple as Learner
When Jesus calmed the storm, the disciples found themselves wondering in awe, What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey? Recall that since this incident occurred rather early in the public life of Jesus, the disciples hadnt yet recognized the divinity of Christ.
But the important thing was, the disciples were reflecting about who Jesus was and learning from what they saw Him do and heard Him speak. Thus, they proved themselves disciples, which is another word for students.
Too often today, however, that essential nature of discipleship gets forgotten. For everyone who glories in the name Christian ought to be a true disciple of Christ, one who commits himself to lifelong learning from the greatest teacher of all. But too many Christians obliviously act as if they already know enough about God and religion! For, they dont regularly read the Bible at home, they dont study catechism lessons, they dont utilize parish libraries and other resources, they ignore magisterial efforts to catechize, they dont pay attention during homilies, and they dont reflect about who Jesus is and learn from what He did and taught.
Heres a simple test: What have you learned in the past week from Jesus or about Him or anything about your faith and morals? Or in the last month? Or year? If you find yourself hard-pressed to mention anything in particular, thats a sure sign of a need to take Christian discipleship more seriously!
<< Home