Most of us do not know the name “Benjamin Graham.” He was born in England, came to the United States of America, went into business, and ultimately wrote a book with the scintillating title, Security Analysis. [1] Graham, along with his co-author, David Dodd, whom even fewer people know, was the father of what we call, “Value Investing.” One of his disciples has name we all know—Warren Buffett.

Today, most people have forgotten the name Chuck Noll. Football people call him “the forgotten coach.” He coached only one team, the Pittsburg Steelers. Nevertheless, Chuck Noll coached some of the most famous players in NFL history. He coached Jack Lambert, “Mean Joe Green,” Jack Hamm, Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swan, John Stallworth and many players who made NFL history. He developed the famous “Steel Curtain” defense. When he became head coach the Steelers had only played in one post-season game in 36 years. He took them to four Superbowls.

Most of us do not know the name Mary Mahoney, but she was a famous nurse. Mahoney worked at the New England Hospital for Women and Children before she was accepted to the hospital’s nursing school at the age of thirty-three. Mary Mahoney was black when black nurses were unheard of. She was a source of inspiration and opened doors for generations of nurses. [2]

Everyone is a disciple of someone. All of us owe our attainments to someone who cared enough to help us accomplish what we have accomplished in life. This morning, we are visiting about the most important discipleship opportunity any of us will ever have, the opportunity to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.

The Wisdom of Following Jesus.

On Epiphany Sunday, Christians remember the coming of the wise men (or Magi) to see the Baby Jesus (Matthew 2:1-12). As you might expect from someone who wrote a book on wisdom literature, the story of the wise men is one of my favorites. Sometime before or just after Jesus was born, a group of wise men far to the east of Israel looked into the sky and saw a star. After consulting astrological charts, they determined that the star was a sign that a new king had been born, a king of the Jews who lived in Palestine to the West. They set out to confirm their theory. First, they went to Jerusalem where they saw King Herod. Herod, however, had no new child. After consulting experts on the Old Testament, they learned that the child was probably born in Bethlehem in Judea. The wise men set off and continued following the star to where the baby was. They worshiped the child. They were the first Gentiles, non-Jews, to worship Jesus.

The story was placed in our Bible partially as a testimony to the accuracy of the prophesies of the Messiah and prove that Jesus was the Messiah. Partially they are included in Scripture to reflect the understanding of the early Christians that, while Jesus was the Messiah of Israel, he is also the savior of Jews and Gentiles alike.

The image of the star is an image of the light of God coming into our dark world with all the wisdom and love God can give us. The earliest name for Christians was “People of the Way.” Jesus came to show us a Way of Life, what wisdom writers called “The Path of Life”—a path leading to health and wholeness, mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. To be a disciple of Jesus is to follow the path of Wisdom and Love he lived out among us. It is to become the people God intended us to be.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul tells the new Christians to “shine like stars” in a dark world (Philippians 2:14). Earlier in Daniel, the prophet is told by God that those who serve the Messiah will shine like stars with these words: Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. (Daniel 12:3) we were meant to shine with the light of the Gospel in our own day and time, just as those in the New Testament were asked to shine with God’s truth in their own time.

He Came to Call Disciples.

As might be expected of wisdom in human form, when Jesus came, he invested himself in people, and especially in those around him who were his closest disciples. Jesus, when he came, formed a community of people who lived and worked together to learn, live, and share the Good News of God’s love for all people. It appears that first Jesus called his inner circle: Peter, Andrew, James, and John. In chapter 2 of Mark, we learn that Jesus called others, even hated tax collectors, to be disciples. When Jesus called Levi (or Matthew) to follow him, we are told that he also immediately got up and followed Jesus. The call of Jesus is to all kinds of people, and that includes us. He called us that we might call others, that the world might finally come to live in the light of God’s love, reflecting that light in the life of every human being.

Later in Mark 3, we learn that there were twelve disciples who were at the very center of Jesus’ ministry. Mark lists the names:

Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him (Mark 3:13-19).

The twelve were important because they symbolized the Twelve Tribes of Israel and God’s continuing ministry to his Old Testament people. However, we know that the Twelve were not the only disciples. We know that there were also seventy people who followed Jesus and who provided important help for his ministry (Luke 10:1-24). We also know that there were at least 500 people who were disciples and to whom Jesus appeared after his resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:6). We know that there were men and women called to be his disciples. Some of the women had important rolls in supporting his ministry (Luke 8:1-3). Paul, when he writes his letters almost always ends with notes to specific people (See for example, Romans 16). Paul, you see, like Jesus was interested in specific people—and making of them disciples who would share the gospel.

I don’t know about you, but I find lists of names of people I don’t know, like the genealogies of the Old Testament, pretty boring. There is, however, an important lesson embedded in the listing of the names and numbers: God calls real people. Jesus called real, specific people to follow him. This is important for us for a very simple reason: God has also called us to follow him. Jesus came to call people to follow him—and we are among the people so called.

Jesus Calls Us for a Purpose.

Not only does Jesus call Peter, Andrew, James, and John to follow him, but he also tells them just exactly why he called them. He called them to be “fishers of men” (Mark 1:17). We always think of evangelism as being Fishers of Men. This lets those of us who are not fishermen off the hook. This is unfortunate. I think if Jesus had called teachers, he would have said, “I will make you teachers of human beings.” If he had called nurses, he would have said, “I will make you healers of human beings.” If he had called musicians, he would have said, “I will make you minstrels of the good news of God.” God told fishermen to be fishers of men. He wanted them so share the wisdom and love of god that he embodied just as they were with the skills and abilities they had! The same is true of us.

Right here we come to a problem with our understanding of what it means to be a disciple. When you ask Americans if they believe in God, a substantial majority of them will say, “Yes.” When you ask them what religion they profess, most will say, “Christianity.” If you ask them if they are followers of Jesus, most of those will say, “Yes.” If you ask them how often have you shared your faith, invited another person to church, or made another person a disciple of Jesus, only a very small percentage will answer, “I have.” Most Christians in America have never invited another person to church much less shared their faith or been instrumental in another conversion. If you ask American Christians to describe their life-style, the life-style they describe is most likely exactly like the lifestyle of their non-Christian friends and neighbors. Most Christians in America live pretty much like everyone else around them.

This might have been O.K. in our parent’s generation. It might have been O.K. when most people believed in God, went to Christian churches, and at least thought they were trying to follow Christ. In our culture, it is not O.K. We live in what is a “post-Christian culture”—that is a culture in which the cultural leaders, the intelligentsia, the artists and writers are not generally Christians. Not long ago, I was watching a television show and decided to learn about the star. He or she listed her religious preference as “Pagan.” All I can tell you is that, in 1955 or so when I first noticed what was going on around me, no one told anyone that his or her religious preference was pagan. They might act like pagans, but they would not proclaim themselves to be pagans.

If we are going to be disciples of Jesus, we have to think about what that means in our culture, in our time, and in our age and be willing to be different. In other words, we cannot just talk about Christian faith and Christian morals, and debate who is right. We have to live out the life of a disciple just as close as we can to the lives of the best disciples of the past. To do this we all need to be in close relationships of love and nurture with other Christians as we are discipled and as we disciple others.

New Year’s Resolution

I am not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions. I have found that they either reflect things I intend to do anyway or things I won’t do anyway. Nevertheless, each year I do think about a few resolutions. As I look back on resolutions of the past, I can see that the few of them I kept have made a difference in my life. If you have not made any New Year’s Resolutions, here are a few suggestions of some resolutions to become a better and more impactful disciple of Jesus:

1. Be Regular in Worship. Christians always worshiped on Sundays. Make worship a priority. The fact is that almost no one who abandons worship continues to embody the wisdom and love of God for very long.
2. Share your Faith with Friends. The Great Commission was to “Go make disciples.” The Church does not exist for itself, but for the world that needs to find the Path of Life.
3. Live a Life of Love. The Great Commandment was to share God’s self-giving, agape love with the world. Resolve this year to share the Deep, Deep Love of Christ with others.
4. Read the Bible Daily. We will only be wise and live wisely in the Way of Christ if we know what that way entails. The habit of daily Bible reading and devotional study is central to successful Christian living.
5. Devote Yourself to Your Family. This fall in our Path of Life Study, we saw how weak the American family is. This year resolve to find one significant way to strengthen your family. [3]
6. Take a Day of Rest. All of the Ten Commandments are important. However, in our society remembering to make time for Sunday to be a day of rest is more important than ever.
7. Have a Close Personal Friend who is also trying to live out the gospel. This past week, I was with an old friend for a short period of time. We are both in late middle age. Our children are either grown or almost grown. We have the same struggles and uncertainties concerning our future. There have been times when he came to me for advice. There have been times when I came to him for advice. There are times when I have suggested a Christian response to a problem to him, and there are times when he has suggested a Christian response to a problem to me. We write each other an email about once a week or so. We all need a Spiritual Friend, a mentor, and a person who is on the journey of walking with Jesus and with whom we can share our journey.

Each person has to determine their own New Year’s Resolutions. However, I think if we all made a list something like the list above, we would find that next New Year’s day would find us happier, healthier, and more filled with the wisdom and love of God as well as the joy of his Presence than ever before.

Copyright 2015, G. Christopher Scruggs, All Rights Reserved

[1] Benjamin Graham & Dared Dodd, Security Analysis (New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 1934).

[2] Maria Timarchi, “10 Most Famous Nurses in History” http://health.howstuffworks.com/medicine/ healthcare/ 10-most-famous-nurses-in-history.htm#page=2 (Downloaded December 14, 2014).

[3] The sermon on which this blog is based was also the final sermon related to the Path of Life study of our congregation. G. Christopher Scruggs, Path of Life: The Way of Wisdom for Christ Followers (Wipf & Stock, 2014) and Path of Life: An Eight Week Devotional Study (Shiloh Publishing, 2014). A bit of the sermon makes the point made in the final chapter of Path of Life.