COME FOLLOW ME

COME FOLLOW ME Fr Luke A Veronis “Come Follow Me.” When Jesus said this to the Apostle Peter, what did He mean? What does it mean for one to truly become a follower of Jesus? Our Lord invited Peter and Andrew, James and John to follow Him, to become His disciples. We could even say Christ called them to become His apprentices. Jesus surely called His followers to become Apostles. Yet, each of these terms reflect a different aspect of what it means to follow Jesus. Let’s look at each of these terms. A disciple is one who becomes a STUDENT. We are to remain life-long learners of Jesus Christ. We are on a constant journey of growing in our knowledge of who God is, of what He has done for us, of who we are, and what He wants us to do in life. No one can ever say they know God completely, or that they know enough about Him, because the Lord Almighty is Infinite and Eternal. He is a Mystery of whom we can only get a tiny glimpse. Yes, the Lord revealed Himself to us by becoming one of us. God became human, so in Jesus, we can know Him. Yet, He is still a deep Mystery we are constantly learning about. But are we good students? Or have some of us stopped learning about Jesus after our Sunday School classes? Are we ongoing students even into our adulthood? Are we daily students reading Holy Scripture daily, listening to God’s voice through these Sacred words, opening up our hearts and minds for Him reveal to us in new ways who He is and what life is all about? I remember Archbishop Anastasios sharing with me what happened when he became a bishop in Greece and a full professor at the University of Athens in 1972. Reaching the pinnacle of these two major events in his life was a milestone, and yet he understood the danger that stood before him. A bishop and a professor in Greece were very honorable positions and he could become full of himself, allowing his own ego and pride to ruin him. Thus, he pledged to himself on the day of his ordination to the episcopacy and his appointment as a full professor that he would always remain a deacon who serve, not a bishop, and would stay a student who is learning, instead of a professor. We also are called to always remain students and servants in our discipleship with the Lord Jesus. A second way we can understand our call to follow Jesus is as an APPRENTICE, one who learns from a Master and strives to imitate Him. Of course, a student must learn intellectually, to understand the foundations of the faith. Yet, understanding with the mind certain beliefs and teachings is not enough. An apprentice learns to imitate his Master, does what his Master does, and slowly become like his Master. In our everyday walk with Christ, do the people around us see Jesus in us? Saint Paul reminds us that “it is no longer I would live but Christ who lives in me.” Do the people we encounter every day see the Lord Jesus in our actions, hear Him in our words, and feel His Presence through us? An apprentice learns and imitates and then becomes like his Master. This is a central part of what it means to follow Christ. Becoming a student and an apprentice is not enough in our walk with Jesus. The Lord then asks us to become His APOSTLE, one who is sent out into the world to share His Good News. We don’t simply learn from Jesus about the Faith. We don’t only imitate Christ in our actions. But we then become the one who is sent by Him to go into the world, this fallen world, and boldly proclaim His Good News! A disciple is one who learns what are the proper beliefs. An apprentice strives to imitate the Master and become like Him in our everyday life. The Apostle understands that he is a co-worker with the Lord. God is doing His good works through each one of us. Now, we may find this hard to believe, that the Lord Almighty would call me or you to be such a follower of His. Who are we? We are surely unworthy, ill-prepared, sinful people. How could God offer us such a call? And yet, this was the exact reaction of Peter in today’s Gospel story. “Depart from me for I am a sinful man.” Peter understood how unworthy he was to become a follower, an apprentice, and an apostle of the Lord Jesus. And yet, Christ knew what was in the heart of Peter. The Lord understood the untapped potential of faith waiting to come forth from the fisherman. And Jesus focused on what Peter could become, not who he was at the present moment. The Lord Almighty looks at each one of us in the same way. He doesn’t see who we are but He sees who we can become. He doesn’t focus on our limited life here and now but sees the divine potential that lies untapped deep within. And He asks us to follow Him, to trust in Him, to learn from Him, to apprentice under Him, and then to become a co-worker with Him. We are called to become His disciples, His students. We are called to become His apprentices, learning under Him. We are called to become His apostles, co-workers with Him. We are unworthy. We may not see or understand our potential. Yet, the Lord Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves. And He calls us to come and follow Him.