In last Sunday’s class session (October 7) we began considering the first of MC USA’s Three Renewed Commitments: “Follow Jesus.” We discussed its explanation:  “We commit to Follow Jesus. As an Anabaptist community of the living Word, we listen for God’s call as we read Scripture together, guided by the Spirit. Through baptism we commit ourselves to live faithfully as Jesus’ disciples, no matter the cost.”

Some of our reflections included the following:

  • “no matter the cost” is rather scary. What does that entail?
  • To “read Scripture together” is a good practice, different from the individualistic way we often read the Bible.
  • Does the word “together” only apply to those in the local congregation? What about the world church and the church also, across the centuries, as our “interpretive community?”
  • How do we know when and if we are “guided by the Spirit?”

We read the following Bible passages about discipleship, with the attendant symbols:

Fish: Matthew 4:18-22; Water: Matthew 28:16-20; Sandals: Mark 6:6b-9; Cross: Luke 14:25-33 Bible: John 8:31-32; Towel: John 13:12-16, 34-35

Then we discussed the famous saying of Hans Denck, an Anabaptist leader and reformer of the 16th Century:  “No one may truly know Christ except one who follows Him in life.” But that is only the first part of his sentence. I was just starting to write the other part, “And no one may follow Christ except….” when the fire alarm rang. We’ll have to finish that statement at the beginning of the next session, on October 14.