She was sick
for three days. On the fourth night her friends called the priest. She had lost
feeling from the waist down and felt she was dying. Her priest came in the room,
came to her side and asked how she was doing. She could no longer speak. Knowing
she was near death, as was the custom in those days, he took out a small cross,
lifted it up before her eyes, and said, “I have brought you the image of your
Maker and Savior. Look upon it and be comforted.”
As she tried
to focus her eyes on the crucifix the room grew dark. Though she knew the room
was crowded with friends, but all she could see was the Jesus upon the cross.
Jesus’ passion for her, his love for her from the cross filled her imagination.
Julian had
lived in Norwich all her life. That’s all she knew. Now, believing she had
died, she was ready to travel to heaven. That night her pain subsided and Dame Julian
of Norwich had a series of intense mystical visions or as she called them,
“showings”. She wrote them down. The rest of her life she spent pondering their
meaning - sharing insights with anyone who would listen. Almost twenty years
later she wrote out an extended account of her visions – calling them Revelations
of Divine Love (ca. 1393). This, this gift, the fruit of her life, was to
become the first book written in the English language by a woman.
Over the
last couple weeks the church’s calendar has been crowded with a number of
powerful women saints, Catherine of Siena, Monica, the mother of Augustine, and
Dame Julian of Norwich. These women of faith have something important to tell
us, something important in common. They all desired earnestly to follow Jesus. They
asked God to help them become disciples and devoted themselves to prayer,
worship, and service to those in need.
Today is
Rogation Sunday. Rogation comes from the Latin “rogatio” which means “to ask”.
It’s found near the end of the Gospel reading for today where Jesus says to his
followers, “You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go
and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever
you ask him in my name.” Whatever you
ask, “rogare”, in my name.
There are
three things I’d like us to keep in mind about following Jesus.
1) Jesus
chose us.
Jesus said,
“You did not choose me but I chose you.” Earlier in the Gospel of John Jesus
begins calling disciples. In the first chapter it says, “The next day Jesus
decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”” (Jn.
1:43)
In the
original Greek it says “on the next day Jesus θέλω willed and purposed to go to
Galilee. It also contains shades of “Jesus desired, took delight and pleasure
in the thought of going to Galilee. He εὑρίσκω searched for Philip and said, “ἀκολουθέω
μοι,” which means “Follow me”;
it also contains the idea “I’ll go ahead of you and look out for you, join me,
become my disciple.” In other words, Jesus had a plan before leaving for
Galilee, he was taking delight in choosing his followers, he knew where Philip
was, went to him, and said, “I’ve been looking for you. Follow me, stay close.”
He also chose
Nathanael and the others even before they knew him. Psalm 139 says that God searches
for us and knows us, we are known and loved even before we are born. Jesus
delights in making disciples out of very ordinary people.
After Jesus
rose from the dead, he said to Peter, “If you love me, follow me and tend to
those in need.” (Jn. 21:19) Don’t worry about what others do or don’t do,
“Follow me, stay close.” Jesus delights in choosing us to become his disciples.
2) Jesus
appoints us to bear lasting fruit.
“And I appointed
you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.”
What does he
mean by saying, “I have appointed you,” but that you, me, all of us, are called
by Jesus to do something. The Gospel reading today comes from a longer
discourse where Jesus describes himself as the “true vine” and calls us to “abide”
in his love, to follow his example, abide in loving action, to be “fruitful.”
“Abide in me
as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it
abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.” (John 15:4-5)
In Twelve
Step Recovery programs they say “you cannot give what you do not have.” How can
I offer the love of Christ if I am not regularly abiding in the source of love?
For years
I’ve thought about what it means to be a disciple: to follow God’s call on my
life. I was, as Kierkegaard called it, merely an ‘admirer of Jesus’. Jesus
calls us to something deeper; he calls to friendship, to develop an intimate
relationship, one of deep trust. Jesus says, I do not call you servants any
longer, but I have called you friends, if you obey my commands. (Jn. 15:15)
The command
to “go and bear fruit, fruit that will last” signifies a fruitful relationship
with the one who is the source of all good desires and all good actions.
And 3) If we
ask, God will make us disciples.
“I appointed
you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give
you whatever you ask him in my name.”
In the
original Greek “to ask” is αἰτέω,v
1) to ask,
beg, crave, desire
Julian of
Norwich asked God, begged God, to help her understand the Passion of Jesus, the
depth of God’s love and compassion. God gave her the words, the Divine
Revelations; she said she merely conveyed to others what God impressed upon her
as she abided in God’s love.
Monica
prayed without ceasing for her husband and son. She wanted, deeply desired them
to know Christ’s love. Her perseverance in love and prayer helped open the door
to their faith. Her son Augustine eventually became an important leader of the
early church in Hippo. Her fruit had a lasting effect.
Catherine of
Sienna devoted herself to prayer and meditation even though her family tried to
discourage. She took her call seriously. She became a nurse and cared for those
rejected by society. She also visited prisoners condemned to death and worked
for the unity of the church. Her life and writings have had a lasting effect on
the church.
For a long
time I’ve been feeling the need to deepen my relationship with Jesus, no longer
just an admirer, I want to be his friend: to follow his call on my life. I had
thought about it and thought about it. I had dabbled in a few committees at
church, helped out at our church’s the homeless breakfast on occasion, and
wondered what God might have me do.
Then I did
something I was never really ready to do before, I asked God about it. I asked
God for guidance and grace to follow him where ever he wants me to go. I
listened to the deep stirrings of my heart and asked God to help me discern his
will for me.
It’s a daily
struggle to take up our cross and follow Jesus. This is impossible to maintain
on our own will power. Besides, once in a while, we let something get in the
way. We forget to abide in the source of our strength and power.
What keeps us
from discipleship? What do you let get in the way? Jesus has already chosen us.
Remember what Jesus said to the disciples, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Jesus will
make us into disciples if we abide, if we but ask God for help. What is impossible
with us is possible with God.
Yet,
discipleship may still seem daunting. Someone will say, “The disciples were
great men and women of faith. I can’t be a disciple; I’m not like them.” Jesus
chose ordinary men and women, some fishermen, some with little education. John,
the disciple that wrote the book of Revelation, was poorly educated, he was a
poor writer and would have failed spelling and grammar, but his book is
included in the New Testament canon.
Knowing that
many of them would deny him, turn their backs on him, fail miserably, Jesus still
entrusted them with the Gospel, knowing that they would eventually turn out
alright.
If they
continued to pray, to worship the living God, to seek and serve the outcasts
and poor, if they continued to practice abiding in LOVE, they would turn out
just fine. You see God trusts us. God believes in us. God would not call us to
discipleship without provide the means to do it. If we ask God for help we will
not be denied. If we crave and desire to follow Jesus closely and ask for
grace, we will be given the strength we need. Jesus feeds us, like a mother,
with milk of the word, and when we’re ready to digest it, the bread of life and
cup of salvation, strength for our journey.
As we leave
this meditation on what it means to follow Christ, it is important to remember
that 1) Jesus chose us and delights in us 2) We are appointed to bear lasting
fruit. Abiding in Jesus the “true vine” will keep us supple, sappy, and
fruitful. And 3) If we ask, God will make us disciples. It is not up to us, all
we need is the willingness to ask for help and abiding faith in God who will
not let us down.
And God said
to Julian, “I can make all things well; I will make all things well; I shall
make all things well; and thou canst see for thyself that all manner of things
shall be well.”
Additional Background on Rogation
Sunday
Rogation
comes from the Latin “rogatio” which means “to ask”. It’s found near the end of
the Gospel reading for today. Jesus says to his followers, “You did not choose
me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will
last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.
In the
original Greek it is αἰτέω,v \{ahee-teh'-o}
1) to ask,
beg, call for, crave, desire
In the 5th
century Christians began to set aside certain days to fast and pray for the
welfare of their communities. Some prayed for a fruitful harvest, others,
living close to a volcano, prayed for protection from eruptions and other
calamities. Days of Rogation were popular among Anglicans until they were
suppressed during the early English reformations. Elizabeth I reintroduced the
practice.
The priest
of the parish with the churchwardens and the local officials headed a crowd of
boys who, armed with green branches, usually birch or willow, beat the parish
boundary markers with them. Local parish communities would beat the bounds or boundaries of their community and ask God for
blessings on their fields and livestock, and the general welfare of all
inhabitants.
Maps were
rare in those days so one of the benefits of making a formal visit around the parish
boundaries helped hand down the knowledge for future generations – being within
the bounds meant that you were liable
to contribute to the repair and upkeep of the church, you had a right to be buried
within the churchyard, and to voice your opinion in the local courts.
