Overview Week One: Come and See Week Two: Hearing God's Voice Week Three: Living by Grace Week Four: Gathered at the Table Week Five: Sent into the World Week Six: Walking the Way

In the earliest days of Christianity, followers of Jesus did not use the term “Christian.” Instead, they referred to themselves as followers of “The Way” (see Acts 24). From its beginnings, to be a Christian, then, was not so much about having everything about God figured out, or being perfect, or belonging to the right club. It was about walking a pathway set before us by Jesus. That is discipleship, pure and simple: following Jesus. It means trying to imitate the examples he left us, but it also means to trust him. Just as we might follow a guide down a dark unknown pathway, to be a disciple of Jesus also involves admitting we don’t know everything or that we are not wholly self-reliant. We keep following Jesus because only he knows the way. So, at its deepest sense, to be a disciple (or to practice discipleship) means learning each day to trust Jesus.

As a grace to us, along this way, Jesus has left us some helpful guideposts—the words of Scripture, the collective wisdom of the Church, and prayer and sacraments. Discipleship also means learning to pick up these tools along the way and to use them as the gifts that they are. The key words there are “tools” and “gifts.” When we begin equating the Bible, the church, or prayer practices with the objective and sole purpose of the Christian life, we have lost sight of our real objective, to trust Jesus.

This week, we begin with simply recentering ourselves on Jesus. In the coming weeks we will explore those other tools for discipleship. Our engagement with Scripture, church teaching, sacraments, acts of service, and spiritual practices will all make so much more sense when we remind ourselves that these are gifts left to us so that we are continually drawn back into a life that floats on the sure promises and love of Jesus.

Read John 1:35-39, 43-51

Imagine you are one of John the Baptizer’s disciples. He points to this strange man walking by, “This is the Lamb of God!” Without explanation you are prompted to get up, leave your teacher and follow this new teacher. Why? What draws you to Jesus? How might you explain to others why you are a follower of this day-laborer from Galilee?

Nathanael asks Jesus, “Where did you get to know me?” In many modern American Christian circles, people are asked, “Do you know Jesus?” Notice, though, that the question is reversed here. It may be more biblical to ask people, “Does Jesus know you?” Jesus always makes the first move. Jesus knows us, loves us, and chooses us long before we ever know him, follow him, or trust in him. How do you think Jesus would respond if you were to ask him: “Where did you get to know me?”

Read The Small Catechism, The Creed, Article III

There is no way to God.
That line is meant to shock us a bit because, so often, we are sold a version of Christianity that tells us it is our job to reach God or to earn our way into heaven. We are told that if we read our Bible more, if we go to church more, if we act a certain way, or if we get all our theology right that we will be closer to God than others and, if we’re lucky, make it to heaven. This was the central myth that our 16th century reforming ancestors—people like Martin Luther, Katie Luther, Philip Melanchthon, Martin Chemnitz, and Johann Gerhard (just to list a few names you should become familiar with)—were trying to dispel. Our reforming ancestors reminded Christians that they were loved by God and close to Jesus not because of their own ability, but because God first draws close to us, and, like we heard in John 1, calls and knows us even before we know or hear him. There is no way to God, because God closes the entire distance between humanity and divinity before we even have a chance to take one step. This was not a new idea concocted by the 16th century reformers. It was the central theological claim of the gospel (the good news) found in the New Testament and in the theologians of the early church. Along the way, it just became harder for Christians to trust that this good news about God’s radical love and choice of us was truly that good, so they began putting more of the burden to please God on our own shoulders. To be a Lutheran (or an “evangelical catholic” as the reformers preferred to be called—“evangelical catholic” literally meaning to be a people of the “universal good news”) is to continually bring ourselves and others back to a posture of trusting that Jesus has already done all the work, and now our life of faith is pure gift and response. 

Jesus is already present in every moment. Jesus already gives you every spiritual gift you need before you can even ask. Prayer is not some magic spell to make a moment holy or to convince God to do something. Prayer transforms us. This week, you are invited to practice Meditative Breath Prayer. This form of meditation allows you to simply be; to listen; and to be receptive to what God might be calling you to each day:

  1. Find a time and place in your day where you can be silent and undisturbed for at least 5 minutes. Set a timer so you do not have to watch the clock.
  2. Sit comfortably, but still alert and attentive.
  3. Take a few slow breaths to settle in and close your eyes.
  4. Then, begin taking slow breaths, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth.
  5. On the inhales, repeat in your mind: “Jesus, Rabbi, Son of God,”
  6. On the exhales, repeat in your mind: “Where did you know me?”
  7. Continue doing this until the time is up.
  8. There is no objective here—no insight or vision you are supposed to receive. If all you get is 5 minutes of peace, thank God for that! If there is something that stirred in you in those 5 minutes, take a couple of minutes to write it down in a journal afterwards.

Your Fig Tree

The unexpected “aha” moment for Nathanael was when Jesus said he saw him under the fig tree. We aren’t entirely sure why that ignited such faith in Nathanael, but it did. Think back on your own life. What are 3 moments that felt like that for you? Maybe they are stories when you felt God’s presence in a special way. Maybe they are stories of when God taught you something that continues to shape your life. Maybe they are moments that spurred you on this discipleship path. Maybe they are even moments that, at the time, felt sad and painful, but over time have become important for your understanding of who God is.

Now, draw a tree. On it, place three large figs (or any kind of fruit, and it can be more than three if you like). On each fruit, draw a symbol or write a single word that will remind you of one of the stories you thought about. Keep this fig tree with you during this series. It will serve as a reminder of your own spiritual journey and those moments when God saw you and met you.

The Small Catechism

Daily Devotionals from "God Pause" by Luther Seminary

"Lutheran Theology in 90 Seconds," the Rev. Nadia Bolz Weber: