About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. 15 The Jews marveled at it, saying, “How is it that this man has learning,[c] when he has never studied?” 16 So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me; 17 if any man’s will is to do his will, he shall know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. -John 7:14-17
And…
“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— 2 the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, 4 and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.” -Romans 1:1-4
According to most anthropologists… humans have been on the move from as far back as when they could walk! Individuals and tribes of people moving out of the African continent into Europe and Asia… and then people coming to both shores of North America and to the south from both directions east and west… and it hasn’t stopped. Either we’re a curious bunch or perhaps we’re never content with where we live and thus go looking for a better 40 acres to claim as our own.
The Bible certainly affirms that story… as Abraham went down from the Ur of the Chaldees and his family even being accused of being related to a ‘wandering Aramean…’ and Moses along with the Hebrew nation plodded through the desert for a long, long time before settling in what God had set aside as a ‘promised land.’ Even Jesus… came down… according to the scriptures. His task included teaching and sending.
So… that brings me to a good question… “What’s the difference between a ‘disciple’ and an ‘apostle’?” Wasn’t Peter a disciple? And Andrew? Yes. And weren’t they both apostles? Like the other ten disciples of Jesus? Yes? And didn’t Paul refer to himself as an apostle following his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus? Of course. So, what’s the difference? Well… a disciple is one who is taught… provided some ‘discipline’… some structure… a path to follow along the way in order to know stuff… stuff that makes and keeps life good.
An apostle is one who is ‘sent’… as the root word of apostle being the four letters… ‘post’… as when we post something it is a message sent… whether it be tacked to a church door or placed in snail mail or e-mail… and the simple difference is one should be a disciple before they can be an apostle… as in one must have something to share… something of value learned… before going out in the public with… as Christians would tout.. ‘good news to share!’
The world should always be full of disciples and apostles… as none of us lives to him or herself and all of us are involved in a rhythm of coming and going all our lives. Disciples and apostles we are!
Am I asking everyone to be a disciple and an apostle like Peter or St. Paul? Yes and no. You may not sense being a disciple like Peter… who Jesus invited into a deep spiritual journey, or you may not have had the experience Paul had by literally bumping into Jesus on your way from one place to the next. But I do know some who have…
Yet… we are all taught many things. We watch others and emulate our lives via their words and deeds. And every day we are sent… because we all go into the world…from our homes… to work or to school… into our neighborhoods and groups and whatever… and back and what goes with us in our being sent is the stuff we are taught… for the good of others or to the detriment of community… and hats off to the young boys from Needville… sent to the Little League World Series… they taught us much! Faith matters.
The Rev. Dr. Brian K. Gigee is a long-time resident of Pearland, having pastored four churches over the last four decades in Texas and Louisiana. Read more following Brian’s blog ‘murmurings’ at https://briangigee.wordpress.com/. Send comments and/or questions to godworks247365@gmail.com.
