Our Gospel reading is taken from Matthew, Chapter 10 verses 24-39. In these verses we are left in no doubt what it means to be a disciple, or follower, of Christ. The call to follow Jesus is a call to share his suffering, the suffering that comes our way as a result of serving the mission of Christ.

Jesus clearly states, ‘whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me’. Jesus suffered on the cross and in doing so took on our supposed crosses, our problems and burdens, as his own. Jesus’ cross is unique, borne not on his own account but for ‘us’ and for ‘the whole world’. We are but followers of the one Lord Jesus who poured out his life for us.

The suffering Jesus speaks of is the suffering that comes as the by-product of living intentionally as his disciple. That may be the ridicule or rejection we face when speaking about our faith in the High Street or Sports Centre, or evening within our own families. We will not be recognised by Jesus as his disciples if we refuse to witness to him in the public square or family home. We are left in no doubt that Jesus must reign above everything else in our lives, above everything else we hold dear.

There is also a great challenge laid before us. Jesus, ‘meek and mild’ is a myth. Jesus declares that he hasn’t come to bring peace but a sword. Disciples of Christ are expected to mobilise and follow Jesus into the courts, the debating chambers, political forums and social media channels to expose, ridicule and disarm the coercive, self-serving, idolatrous forces that have free reign across the world. We must expect that when powerful vested interests are challenged, they will abuse, threaten and seek to silence those who call them to account.

Finally, the manner of Jesus’ own living and dying presents perhaps the most difficult way in which Jesus’ disciples must suffer. We are expected to emulate the love, life and service we find in Jesus Christ. But love exacts a cost; it can tear our hearts in pieces; it can bring the pain of rejection. But even when we’re rejected, subjected to abuse and hardship, we’re to act to absorb the hostility and not to pass it on, and to call down God’s Spirit so that we can be forgiving and help to break the downward spiral of hate and evil.

We are not promised protection from the pain - emotional, physical and intellectual - that comes from following a crucified king. But we are promised freedom from fear. We’re not offered deliverance from pain, but we do believe that dying to self is the necessary cost of coming alive.

Given all that is going on in the world today, the cost of discipleship is, and will continue to be, as demanding as ever. But remember, it is nothing compared to the suffering of our Lord Jesus, suffering he gladly bore for you and for me and for the whole world.

Every blessing,

Christian