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Beginning to Be a Disciple

You'll know you're a disciple when this is true of you.

“Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.”

  - Matthew 10.21, 22

Why look on these things with the eyes of your souls asleep? Why listen to such things with the ears of your senses dulled? Scatter, I beg you, the black shadowy fog of the faintness of your hearts, that you may see the radiant light of truth and humility. A Christian not middling but perfect, a priest not worthless but outstanding, a martyr not lazy but pre-eminent, says: “It is now that I am beginning to be a disciple of Christ.”

  - Gildas, The Ruin of Britain, British, 6th century[1]

Gildas wrote from Britain about conditions in the churches in that country in the generation after Patrick. His book was a scathing indictment of the Church. Pastors were spineless, worldly, and lacking in discipline. The people knew little of true piety, and evidenced but little zeal for the Gospel. The whole Christian community had become badly compromised, and everything about life in 6th-century Britain was declining as a result. The “ruin of Britain” was the fault of churches unwilling to be what Christ intended them to be, and more interested in satisfying the needs and wants of people and priests, than of the Kingdom of God.

Gildas had just quoted an excerpt from one of the letters of Ignatius, the second-century bishop of Antioch. Ignatius wrote letters to seven churches who sent messengers to greet and console him as he was being taken through Asia Minor to Rome for martyrdom.

In the excerpt Gildas quoted, Ignatius declared his resolve to face martyrdom in Rome as a badge of honor for the name of Christ. Ignatius did not fear death because he feared God and loved Him.

Ignatius represented a quality of Christian faith unknown to the comfortable and complacent pastors and believers in Britain, concerning whom Gildas addressed his remarks. He called on all who read his words to throw off “the faintness of your hearts” so that they might “see the radiant light of truth and humility.” Then they could begin to be true disciples of the Lord.

It’s only when we’re willing to die for our faith, Gildas insisted, that we can truly say, “now…I am beginning to be a disciple of Christ.”

The Church in Britain and Europe had grown fat and lazy by the time the first Irish peregrini (wandering missionary/monks) began showing up in their parishes, late in the 6th century. The Church was a ruin of its former glory, and had lost that martyr’s outlook that was willing, if it were necessary, to be hated by all for the sake of the Gospel. Those who came from Ireland proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom to the lapsed Christians and outright pagans of Europe were hated by those whose comfort they disturbed by their preaching and exemplary lives.

They were hated, but they were heard. Over the course of two centuries, those Irish missionary/monks prevailed to bring revival, renewal, and awakening to the ruined churches of Europe.

Are we willing to be hated for the sake of the Gospel? Until we are, we won’t begin to be disciples of the Lord.

We hear much talk these days about the need to be mindful of the sensitivities of lost people, making our churches places where unbelievers can feel welcome and right at home, lightening up and having more fun, toning down the rhetoric of our preaching so as not to offend anyone with our language of sin, repentance, and dying to self.

This is where the preachers in Gildas’ day had taken their stand. And they were ruining not only their churches, but their country as well. Gildas questioned the faith of those ministers, insisting they were not true disciples of Christ if they were not willing, for the sake of the Gospel, to be hated by all men.

I wonder what he would say about us?

Read Gildas’ The Ruin of Britain and you’ll think you’re reading a contemporary report on the state of the Church in the West.

The true disciple loves the Gospel more than the approval or ways of the world. Let the world – and perhaps even the “church” – hate us if it will, but let us not shrink back from living and proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom of God to the people we meet each day.

Then we will begin to be disciples, indeed.

Psalm 57.9-11 (Faben – Praise the Lord, Ye Heavens Adore Him)
Praise and thanks among the nations I will sing with all my might!
For Your truth and love are stationed far above the highest height!
Be exalted o’er the heavens, let Your glory fill the earth!
To Your Name all praise be given, let all men proclaim Your worth!

Lord, use me as a ladder propped against the City of God, that many may find their way to You. Adapted from Dallán Forgaill, “Amra Choluimb Chille”

Parameters of Prayer
Being a disciple means being a person of prayer. But what does that mean? Our course, Parameters of Prayer, can lead you into a deeper, more consistent, and more enjoyable life of prayer with God. It’s free and online, and you can study at your own pace, individually or with a group. For more information or to register, click here.

The Lord provides for the needs of The Fellowship of Ailbe by moving on the hearts of those who benefit from our work and believe in our mission. If that includes you, please seek the Lord in prayer concerning this opportunity. It’s easy to give to The Fellowship of Ailbe, and all gifts are, of course, tax-deductible. You can click here to donate online through credit card or PayPal, or send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452.

T. M. Moore, Principal
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All Psalms for singing from The Ailbe Psalter. Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
 


[1]Winterbottom, p. 59.

T.M. Moore

T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
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