St Luke’s transcribed sermon by Anthony Sharkawi.
One of the major themes of today’s Gospel is discipleship as the Lord said;
“Whoever of who does not forsake all that he has, cannot be My disciple.”
Discipleship, very simply, just means to be a follower of someone. Over time, discipleship has been done in different ways over time. One example is Pope Kyrillos; Pope Kyrillos was a disciple in a unique way to a man who lives centuries before he did, St Isaac the Syrian. Pope Kyrillos would do this by reading his teachings and absorbing them daily.
Recently, upon talking to a servant at St Mark’s, she was telling me how she was a disciple. The way she did it was through listening to a certain priest’s sermons while in the car. In a way, by absorbing the teachings of this priest, she becomes his disciple.
Another way that people become disciples is by physically following them, and this was the way it was done in Jesus’ time. Jesus was physically followed by the twelve, and that is how they became His disciples. One of the modern ways this is done is with the army. Just like Jesus says, “Whoever of who does not forsake all that he has, cannot be My disciple”, the people in the army actually do that. They leave their family and go follow a commander who essentially tells them what to do.
There is a very interesting account from WW2, where a certain group was told what to do that really could have got them killed but did it anyway. They were known as ‘the ghost army’ and their assignment in the war was to hold a line of battle with inflatable toys. They had inflatable tanks and inflatable soldiers to deceive enemies regarding the number of people they have. This is discipleship in an extreme way because they listened to something that didn’t make any sense, but in the end, it worked out.
The one common thread between all these disciples though, is that they heeded word. Whether it was Pope Kyrillos that heeded St Isaac’s word, the servant at St Mark’s listening to the priest’s word, or a person at the army listening to the commander’s words. So, words are a big way in which we can become disciples.
Take notice of something in all these verses;
“Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”
“The word of God is truth who effectively works in those who believe.”
“For the word of God is living and powerful.”
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.”
So, the word of God is a weapon for when Satan attacks us. So, when I feel down, I use the word of God to bring me back up, remembering that Jesus came to save the world and all sinners of whom I am chief. Then we are told that the word of God effectively works in those who believe, so it does something in us. Then in Hebrews it says that it is living and powerful, so it’s not like a book that we open, and it has no effect on our lives. Then Colossians tells us to use the word of in us, telling us to let it dwell in us.
When we were children, in Sunday school we had to learn a verse from the bible before we leave the lesson that day. We may think that this is childish, but the truth is that we are the kids if we think this is too childish for us. When was the last time that we deliberately took this sword, this effective, living, and powerful thing, and let it dwell in our minds?
Recently, I had a lot of work to do and generally, my wife noticed that I’d fall sometimes asleep while we pray together at night. And so, she told me that whatever I got to do I could do it just make sure you pray first then do it. Generally, we go through the midnight prayer from the Agbeya together. So, I listened, and I really learned this;
I discovered what the secret was to David’s prayers. In the midnight prayer, the longest psalm, 119, is there and it’s broken into 22 parts. I just want you to focus on what David mentions in every single part of this Psalm;
Part 1;
“Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord.”
Part 2;
“How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.”
Part 3;
“Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your word.”
Part 4;
“My soul clings to the dust; Revive me according to Your word.”
Part 5;
“Establish Your word to Your servant, who is devoted to fearing You.”
Part 6;
“Let Your mercies come also to me, O Lord – Your salvation according to Your word.”
Part 7;
“Remember the word to Your servant, Upon which You have caused me to hope.”
Part 8;
“You are my portion, O Lord; I have said that I would keep Your words.”
Part 9;
“You have dealt well with Your servant, O Lord, according to Your word.”
Part 10;
“Those who fear You will be glad when they see me Because I have hoped in Your word.”
Part 11;
“My soul faints for Your salvation, But I hope in Your word.”
Every single part of that Psalm that isn’t even written in parts has to refer to the word of God. And something even scarier is that every single sentence has reference to the word of God. This is seen in part 22;
“Let my cry come before You, O Lord;
Give me understanding according to Your word.
Let my supplication come before You;
Deliver me according to Your word.
My lips shall utter praise,
For You teach me Your statutes.
My tongue shall speak of Your word,
For all Your commandments are righteousness.
Let Your hand become my help,
For I have chosen Your precepts.
I long for Your salvation, O Lord,
And Your law is my delight.
Let my soul live, and it shall praise You;
And let Your judgments help me.
I have gone astray like a lost sheep;
Seek Your servant,
For I do not forget Your commandments.”
Imagine writing something and every single word is based on the word of God. The bottom line is that discipleship can really be done by words. In every single sentence, Kind David somehow speaks about precepts, judgments, statutes, law, or word of God. Practically for us, sometimes we ignore the most powerful thing God has given us; His word. A lot of times, circumstances bring us down but how often do we let the word of God bring us back up?
This is King David’s secret, he used to word of God every day.
I remember something that Abouna Anthony from the monastery taught me. When King David says in the Psalms the “all day I meditate on Your word”, this does not just mean that he would just meditate or think on God’s word but rather he would repeat the word through the day. How beautiful if we opened the word of God every morning and took a promise from God every day and repeat it throughout the day.
So, just to finish; discipleship we learn through words. In these words, we find salvation and we find our hope, our peace, our life, and our joy.
Glory be to God forever. Amen.