Last week I expressed my favorite title for us as parishioners and began a series of three letters to you on the theme of discipleship. It occurred to me that I should change the salutation that I have been using for years in these letters from “Dear Fellow Parishioners” to Dear Fellow Disciples.” Today I want to talk about an important aspect of discipleship – Disciples have a mission.
I prefer the word disciple because it implies that we are actively following Jesus and carrying out his mission in the world today. As disciples, we use our many gifts to bring God’s presence to the world. We proclaim the message of Jesus in the words we choose to speak and in the actions we take. Either by direct invitation or through our service to others, we invite people to become disciples. As a community of disciples we help one another overcome evil and defend the most vulnerable members of society.
I wish this description of discipleship described me perfectly, but unfortunately I am an imperfect disciple. My invitation is for us as a community to strive to reflect ideal discipleship more fully by the grace of God.