Modern Day Disciples

Modern Day Disciples

Following Jesus today is harder than it used to be, but modern day

disciples do exist. Christians try to see Jesus in other people and

they follow Jesus' example and teachings. An everyday Christian would

try to see the good in everybody, try to forgive others when hurt or

unhappy and apologise for things that they do wrong. Caring for the

poor, putting others before themselves and trying not to be racist or

prejudiced are all important qualities that an everyday Christian

should live their lives by. In our everyday lives as children, adults,

workers and families we can, of course, communicate with God; we can

listen and respond to the call of Jesus even today. Through church,

prayer, priests, and by fulfilling the sacraments we can be at one

with God at any time.

To get a call would be to have such a strong faith that you want to

drop everything to follow it. Nowadays, to do as the first disciples

did today, monasteries with monks, and convents with nuns allow people

who wish to dedicate their lives to God to go and do so. Going into

the priesthood is an option that allows you to be more of a disciple,

to spread the word, to preach, to teach, to learn from others. It is a

vocation. Vocation means to be called. In today's world there are two

types of calling. The first type is a religious calling into

priesthood or religious life. This involves giving up your life to

serve god and his message. The second type is when you are called to

be the lay people. To be a person of the lay you have to have the

responsibility to teach others the values of truth and justice, love

and peace. These people like I said before are Christians and are

examples of modern day disciples.

Some of the stories in Mark's Gospel can be used to show us things

that happen every day around us. For example, Bill Gates, the

billionaire Microsoft founder, gives one million pounds every year to