True Discipleship

Step #1: Lectio / Read

Click the link below or open your Bible to the passage and read through the reading at least once, paying attention to what is happening in the text. 

Matthew 9:9-13

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Step #2: Meditatio / Meditate

Use the following meditation to help you reflect more deeply on the Scripture (you may want to read the passage again).

Do you know what it means to be a disciple? If we’re looking at the example of a disciple in Jesus’ time, rabbis had about 5-6 disciples and they taught their disciples how to live. They taught them how to uphold tradition, how to interpret Scripture, and ultimately how to be just like their rabbi. The process for being chosen as a disciple was interwoven with the school system at that time, and there was a special ceremony with very specific phrases used when a rabbi chose a disciple. When the rabbi would go through the students and ultimately pick his disciples, those chosen would then leave everything to go live under and work with that rabbi, immediately taking a new way of life without looking back.

However, all the disciples Jesus chose were turned down as children. They were sent to go work in their father’s trade and grew up doing that. After following their father’s work for years, they didn’t really know any other way of life. 

Then they meet Jesus.

When Jesus said “follow me”, the actual phrase He used was “lech acharai”. This is the same phrase used by the rabbis when they called their disciples to drop everything and follow them. So when Jesus said this, that’s exactly what His disciples did. They understood the serious implications of being a disciple and yet every single time one of them was called they immediately got up, dropped everything, and followed Christ. When Christ called, they left.

And Christ is calling you to be His disciple too.

This isn’t just a fluffy thought to take lightly. This is just as real as Jesus walking up to his first disciples and saying “lech acharai”.

Some of Jesus’s disciples were teenagers, but it was these teenagers who gave their lives to follow Christ when even the Pharisees turned their backs. When Jesus sat and ate with tax collectors and sinners, His disciples were right there with Him. They loved with Him, they laughed with Him, they cried with Him, they served with Him. In following the definition of a disciple, they lived like Him. 

They weren’t perfect, but they gave their whole hearts. They lived with love, emphasizing Jesus’ words of “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”. Jesus is calling you closer to Himself, to be as close to His Sacred Heart as His first disciples were. Closer to Love itself, emphasizing mercy and redemption above all. 

Jesus has chosen you because He believes you can be like Him. You are loved, protected, and chosen by the God of the universe, the one who calls you even closer to Himself. Don’t worry; He’s there with you in every moment, to guide and to teach and, above all, to love.

Jesus is looking at you with love, saying “lech acharai”. How will you respond?

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Step #3: Oratio / Pray

These questions are to be used to talk to God; have a conversation with the Lord about these questions and what is going on in your heart as you pray today.

Do you have the courage leave everything and follow Jesus as a true disciple? How do you think that would look for you today?

In what ways are you already a disciple? How are you already living like Jesus?

What is a tangible way that you can live more like Him today?

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Step #4: Contemplatio / Contemplate

In this step, you listen. Stop talking, let God speak to your heart. You may repeat one of these short phrases to focus your mind on the Lord.

"I love you, Jesus."

"Teach me, Lord."

​"Come Holy Spirit."

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Step #5: Actio / Act

In light of today's reading and your time spent in prayer with the Lord, what concrete action or actions will you take to let this encounter with the Lord bear fruit in you today?

Take some time to actually give everything to the Lord today. It doesn't mean you necessarily will lose it all, but if you are not willing to give it all to Him, work on that radical, disciple-like detachment. If you need a guide, take a look at some Marian Consecrations.

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Smartphone Lock Screen

The following image is here for you to save and use as a background or lock screen on your smartphone or device to help you carry today's Lectio Divina with you the rest of the day.

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Today's prayer was prepared by Tatiana Schaffer, a student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign studying Engineering and Psychology.