Being a Tiny Jesus
reflections on discipleship and "making disciples"
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” ~Matthew 28:16-20
One of the greatest tragedies of our time is the fact that many of those who call themselves Christian bear little (if any) resemblance to Jesus Christ. Thus, the meaning of the word Christian has become corrupted.
In today’s America, the word Christian is often attached to the word “evangelical.” And evangelical Christianity, in turn, has become attached to certain political leaders and ideals that also bear little (if any) resemblance to Jesus Christ. Is it any wonder that Brennan Manning once said, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”
Recently, in Minneapolis, yet another person lost their life at the hands of an administration intent on scapegoating immigrants, refugees, and anyone who has taken a stand on behalf of immigrants and refugees. Meanwhile, Jesus wants to remind us that whoever feeds the hungry and welcomes the stranger, feeds and welcomes him…and whoever does not feed and welcome the stranger, does not feed and welcome him. What you do to “the least of these,” Jesus says, “you do to me.”[1]
It is precisely on this point that evangelical Christianity in America can no longer in any meaningful sense be called Christian…for evangelical Christians (by and large) have failed to see that the people thronging to our country from other places are, in fact, Jesus in disguise looking to be taken in and loved.
It is ironic because one of the most important texts of Scripture within evangelical Christianity is Matthew 28 where Jesus commands us to go into all the world and make disciples. Over several generations now, evangelical Christians have invoked this text to raise up missionaries and send them overseas to “reach people for Christ.” Yet what happens when God brings the world right to our doorstep? Do evangelicals embrace it as an opportunity to be the hands of feet of Jesus? No. Instead, they have (by and large) aligned themselves with a cruel administration, calling for immigrants and refugees to be deported without ever getting to know their names and faces, the stories and gifts that our immigrant and refugee neighbors have to offer us. Had evangelicals treated the immigrants and refugees in our midst as if they were the living embodiment of Jesus, they would have discovered that our country needs the immigrant just as much as the immigrant needs our country. We are better and stronger as a people with immigrants and refugees than we are without them.
But the church in America today has missed the heart of what Jesus commanded in the Great Commission of Matthew 28. The church has not been able to make true disciples of Jesus because churchgoers have not been true disciples themselves. In fact, I have become convinced that the church has failed in its own discipleship to Jesus because the church scarcely even knows what it means to be a disciple.
I like how Martin Luther and C.S. Lewis put it: a disciple of Jesus is a “little Christ.” In our PlayWell Community, we refer to all those who are learning what it means to walk in the footsteps of Christ as a “Tiny Jesus.” This reminds us that the goal of the spiritual life is to grow in God’s love such that our lives resemble the life of Jesus who revealed to us the love of God for all. We are to become like a tiny Jesus. What Jesus did, we do. What Jesus said, we say. What Jesus thought, we think. We want our thoughts, words, and actions to be like Jesus. This is what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.
The command to “make disciples,” then, is a command (first and foremost) to be like Jesus in the course of our everyday lives. This comes out in the actual wording that Jesus used in Matthew 28. Christians often translate the text as “Go and make disciples” but what Jesus actually said was, “As you go…make disciples.”
The phrase “as you go” implies that discipleship is not something we can turn on and off, as if it is something we start and stop. No, it is a lifestyle. It is a way of being in the world that infuses every area of our lives—wherever it is we are going, wherever it is we are. This means that the person who inhabits the space right next to you at any moment is someone with whom you are called to share Jesus’ love and, ultimately, to see as Jesus himself. Discipleship is something we practice as we go about the business of our everyday lives. It involves being a good neighbor, living in your workplace as if you are working for God, offering your compassionate presence to the hurting, caring for the sick, standing with the powerless, advocating on behalf of the oppressed, and tending to the needs of the poor.
Instead, we have cheapened the word discipleship by equating it with attending church, singing our nice worship songs, reading our Bible, praying with a certain kind of lingo, and keeping our distance from the broader culture. The irony is: when Christians merely inhabit their own strange little sub-culture, they are living in a way that is contrary to how Jesus actually lived. Being a disciple of Jesus means being present to people right where they are at; it means we embrace the world in which we live, not push it away.
Because living as a tiny Jesus is an as-you-go phenomenon, it is improvisational, a creative work-in-progress. It is not a set-in-stone, step-by-step checklist. It is a way of being that is dependent on our attunement to the Spirit, who is like the wind. Just as you cannot tell where the wind has come from or where it is going,[2] so all those who give themselves over to the way of the Spirit cannot tell where She is going to carry them. Discipleship to Jesus thrusts us into the Great Unknown…a space that requires trust and humility, gentleness and patience (with yourself and with others), courage and hope. Discipleship in the way of Jesus is a passion project through and through. It is a lifelong journey of continuous learning, growing, and stretching, even as Jesus invites us to keep coming back to him just to rest and remain with him.
In this way, discipleship to Jesus cannot be reduced to a single characteristic. It is a both/and way of being, smashing our dualisms, all the convenient little silos we like to construct to keep our faith orderly and controllable. Being a tiny Jesus involves knowing when it is good to wait and when the Spirit is prompting us to forge ahead. It involves knowing when it is time to speak and when it is best to practice cultivating silence. It involves learning how to be both a generous giver and a grateful receiver. When we practice being a tiny Jesus, we know how to live graciously with both the weeds and the wheat,[3] whether within or without. We learn to love others and ourselves with all our flaws and look for the beauty in it all, knowing that reality is always more lovely than pretense, and the truth is always more interesting than a lie. Being a tiny Jesus involves increasing the capacity of our soul to be fully present to all the mess and glory of life as it is.
This is not easy to do, is it? Perhaps this is why G.K. Chesterton once wrote: “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried.”[4] So, dearly beloved: let us walk the difficult but beautiful path of following the real Jesus. Let us look for him in the lives of those we encounter day-by-day. Let us make disciples as we go by being his disciples as we go. Let us learn more and more what it looks like to be a tiny Jesus who invites us all to be true to our truest selves. May God’s grace abound to us so that, day by day, we may resemble more and more the beauty and goodness of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen and amen.
[1] See Matthew 25:34-45
[2] See John 3:8
[3] See Jesus’ parable about this in Matthew 13:24-30
[4] from What’s Wrong with the World.