A Disciple Learns

What is a "disciple?"  Last Wednesday our responses included:
-- a person who follows Jesus
--someone who teaches others how to be disciples
--someone who spreads the Word of God
A previous class contributed these understandings:
-- someone who lives according to what they believe
--a disciple learns by being with the teacher, following their example
In the New Testament the term is mathetes:  we might translate it "learner."  We noted that a person following Jesus would be constantly learning and would not be stuck in the same place: "following" is impossible without some kind of movement.  Also, the best teachers are good learners, so anyone who would be teaching others how to follow Jesus would be someone who knows by experience.
People often speak of the "twelve disciples"  Even the gospels make references to "the twelve."  But when our class investigated, we found fifteen names!  I guess it is good to do some of your own research!!
Here they are:
James
John  (brother of James; both sons of Zebedee; fishing partners of Simon and Andrew)
Simon ( Peter)
Andrew
Bartholomew
Philip
Thomas
Matthew
Levi
Judas Iscariot
Judas, son of James
James, son of Alphaeus
Simon the Zealot
Thaddeus
Nathaniel
Historically, Levi has been associated with Matthew, the second Judas with Thaddeus,and Nathanael with Bartholomew, perhaps to harmonize the "twelve."  In Luke's gospel, the number of Jesus' followers is much larger--he chooses the "twelve" from the larger group for the role of apostles (the ones who are sent).

We considered what we knew about the people on our list:
--  James and John are brothers;  they are fishermen, the sons of Zebedee.
-- Likewise, Simon and Andrew are brothers who are fishermen.   Simon will also be known to us as "Peter (petros/"rock")."  Andrew is the "St. Andrew" of our church's name.  In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, these are the first disciples called.  Jesus calls them to leave their nets and "fish for people."
--Matthew is identified as a tax collector (Matthew 9). In two other gospels, the same man is called "Levi." This is a local person who would have collected taxes for the Roman Empire.  The tax collectors were notorious and hated by everyone.  In other words, Jesus even calls people that everyone hates!  Jesus calls Matthew away from a business that is very profitable for him but that steals money from the poor; Jesus offers him a life with less money but full of meaning and solidarity with others.
--The second Simon was a Zealot.  The Zealots fought against the Roman army occupying Israel. They hated collaborators like the tax collectors and might have killed them. But Jesus calls Simon into a community with the one he hates, having him renounce violence and recognize that he and Matthew are brothers in God's family. Both of them change as they work together for the peace of God.
--Judas Iscariot is the disciple who turned Jesus over to the authorities; he is later consumed with pain and regret.
--Thomas has been unfairly called "Doubting" Thomas, because he had a hard time believing what the other disciples told him about seeing the resurrected Jesus.  But his life was about far more than doubt.

One of the things members of the class noticed was the absence of women on the list.  More than one person commented that women were second-class citizens in that culture--they were not seen as leaders or equal partners. They did not get a chance to go to school.  But did this mean that Jesus behaved like the rest of the culture?  No!
Together we read Luke 8:1-3.  There, women are mentioned as Jesus' followers along with "the Twelve:"  Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and "many others."  Amazingly, it is the women who are identified as "the providers!"  Jesus is gathering a community that looks and acts very differently than people expected!
We were reminded that it was Mary Magdalene and other women who were the first witnesses to Jesus' resurrection, reporting to the men who were in hiding. Joanna is someone whose discipleship is risky, given her husband's employment with the king who opposes Jesus. In John's gospel, a Samaritan woman who is shunned by everyone becomes an evangelist for Jesus with her people.
Weren't there other Marys, someone asked?  Mary of Bethany, along with her sister Martha and brother Lazarus, were very close to Jesus.  When Jesus and his followers were in Jerusalem, they stayed at Mary and Martha's in Bethany (Poortown).  Of course, Jesus' mother was also named Mary; she was from Nazareth.
In Luke Chapter 10, Jesus sends out seventy others-- in pairs of two-- to prepare the way for Jesus' coming, sharing the good news and planting seeds for future Christian communities.
Are we the disciples of Jesus today? This is what we are considering.  Disciples are everyday people.  They are also people who answer Jesus' call when he says, "Follow me."  What does it mean for each of us, even in our teen years, to be "followers" of Jesus, "learners" who together are discovering a way of life molded by God's love.