Session One

Since I am recording these notes (from newsprint and memory) more than a week after our session, they may not be as careful and detailed as in subsquent sessions.

We began by reading together the prayer, "Touch Me," then discussed the dimensions of our adventure in "Following Jesus."
We shared in reading Mark 1:14-20, the account of Jesus re-entering Galilee and beginning his ministry. We reflected on the substance of his proclamation, "The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." (Pastoral note: It is interesting that when people are asked for a Bible passage that communicates the heart of the gospel message, they most often will quote John 3:16--I even did at my ordination exam! Conversely, I would like to suggest that this passage may actually do it most clearly). According to Mark, Jesus then calls his first disciples from among those fishing on the Sea of Galilee.
We considered the meaning of disciple, noting its kinship with discipline. We understood a disciple as a "follower." We noted that the term in the New Testament Greek, mathetes, can mean "learner." We are beckoned to consider what kind of "learners" and "followers" Jesus calls us to be. How does one "learn on the Way?" In our present-day context, where people often ask, "What would Jesus do?," an even more basic and preliminary question might be, "What DID Jesus do?," which then leads us to more clearly consider what he would do in our shoes.
In reflecting on this initial sotry from Mark Chapter One, group members observed that:
--Simon, Andrew, James and John "saw something in Jesus."
--they perceived opportunity
--they didn't ask questions but, as Mark tells it, responded "immediately."
--their response was costly; They "left everything." We spent some time considering how their lives were being re-shaped. What might their understandings have been?
--Jesus called these first disciples--fishermen--recognizing their gifts and promising to teach them how to use these sames gifts in new ways (to "fish for people"). How might Jesus lead us to re-dedicate our gifts?
--We considered how Jesus' own story--the "turn" his life takes at age thirty, his entering the baptismal waters, his time in the wilderness where being tested clarifies his calling, the risk of his new ministry ("after John was arrested")--relates/fortells the developments in the lives of his new disicples.
Perhaps we might also consider what impact Andrew and Peter's response may have had on James and John's subesquent decision (modeling, imitation, peer pressure?).

When we discussed what we knew on a larger scale about Jesus' disciples and who they were. The Twelve were referred to and folks were quickly able to name about half-a-dozen specifically. But it was noted that in the gospels there is a much larger population recognized as "followers" and "learners" of Jesus (read the blue sheet in your notebook carefully). Paul and Stephen were identified as two persons who became apostles in the wake of Jesus' resurrection.

When we took time to identify paths of inquiry and learning that people wanted to pursue the following were specifically cited:

1) Studying/exploring Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) with particular attention to Jesus' interpretation and reframing of the Ten Commandments.
2) Who is Jesus?
3) Jesus is "the Son of God." What does that mean in practical terms for our lives?
4) Exploring how "letting go of self" relates to "following Jesus."
5) How is the path of discipleship a path of healing?

Please feel free to add other recollections, observations, and refelctions flowing from Session One.