Committing to Discipleship by the Rev. Dr. Christopher D. Girata
A Message from the Rector, the Rev. Dr. Christopher D. Girata
I wish I was a patient person. The old proverb, “patience is a virtue,” pokes at me regularly. I’m certainly guilty of the common, human struggle to want things to happen quickly—to see results as soon as possible. Most of us are like that. We aren’t inherently patient. If we were, then we wouldn’t have to set patience as a virtue! The idea of being patient has been quite present to me as we have worked on the life of our parish over the last few years.
This fall, after nearly a decade of planning and hard work, we will see incredible changes in our shared church house. The scale of the work is unlike anything that has happened to Saint Michael since we built the church itself nearly 70 years ago. The campus we had wasn’t what we need for the future, and so we’ve pledged ourselves—our efforts, our gifts, and our faith—to building the space we need to continue to grow as the people of God.
Growth does not happen accidentally. As followers of Jesus, our growth happens because we make clear commitments. Those commitments flow together with the Holy Spirit to build us up. As a church family, we are given the opportunity to commit together. Although it’s possible to be a disciple of Jesus on our own, it’s not a good idea. Left to our own devices, we will almost certainly fall short.
Following Jesus is what we are all about, and doing whatever we can to help one another in our discipleship efforts is our sacred responsibility. To that end, we are moving into a new phase of life together where we will be asking more of each other. It takes confidence and courage to humble ourselves and admit we need one another. Many of us are called to show expertise in our daily lives, so anchoring ourselves in the truth that we need help can be challenging. Depending on one another and on the Spirit will give us the best shot at healthy growth.
Strong discipleship commitments are best made to one another and in ways that hold us accountable. We are all Christians, yes, but the way we live our Christian faith at Saint Michael is as unique as every other Christian community. Here at Saint Michael, we have identified four guiding pillars of healthy discipleship: pray, learn, serve, and give. Over the next few years, we will be in a transition period as our campus is transformed. While that happens, we can adopt new habits and transform ourselves spiritually as our campus is transformed physically.
We will be expanding our commitments one step at a time, and this fall, the first moment of commitment centers on giving. We know that giving gifts of treasure is central to the Christian life and critical to our discipleship, but sometimes we forget that its centrality goes all the way back to Jesus and the first discipleship communities.
In the gospels, Jesus speaks of money and possessions as frequently as he speaks of anything else. Jesus knows that money and possessions are far too important to us—that our human systems are built on the power and authority we attribute to money and possessions. Jesus does not shy away from pushing hard against these worldly assumptions, and his words are just as punchy today as they were in the first century.
Among the many things Jesus said about money and possessions, include clear statements such as, “Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions (Luke 12:15),” and “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much… You cannot serve God and wealth (Luke 16:10, 13).” Over and over again, Jesus beats the drum of committing ourselves to the kingdom of God, not to the kingdoms of this world.
Over the next few years, we can adopt new habits and transform ourselves spiritually as our campus is transformed physically.
For me, the most important thing Jesus says about treasure comes in Matthew’s gospel when Jesus is delivering the Sermon on the Mount. As Jesus is speaking of the kingdom of heaven—what the kingdom is and how we can be part of the kingdom—Jesus says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:19–21).”
Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
God knows us better than we know ourselves. We might like to think that we know who we are, what we want, and what motivates us. But the truth is, God knows us better than we can ever know ourselves. That truth is what makes Jesus’s statement about our treasure and our heart so powerful.
Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Conventional wisdom says that we need to care first, and then once we care, we will act. Most of us think that if we care enough about a goal or about an initiative or about a mission statement, then we will give our time, talent, and treasure. However, Jesus flips that order on its head. God knows us, so Jesus knows us, and Jesus says that in order for us to care, we must give. In order for us to commit our hearts, we must first commit our treasure.
Commitment is going to be the big idea for this fall. Commitment is how our discipleship goes from being a hope to being an action. When we commit, we begin the journey of true transformation. As a community, we made the big commitment years ago to take the asset of our north land and commit the majority of that asset to transforming the world around us. We didn’t simply commit 10% of that asset to transformative work, or even double the commitment to 20%. Instead, we committed 85% of that significant asset to long-term kingdom-building work in our church, our city, and beyond.
This fall, I want you to make a personal commitment of your treasure that stretches you in a meaningful way. I want you to make a financial commitment that the world would judge as too much, as too risky, because you wish to commit yourself to God’s kingdom work. This fall, I want you to commit your treasure to a path of discipleship that will mold and form and challenge and transform your heart.
The work we do here at Saint Michael is the work of God’s kingdom. This year, as our physical life is transformed around us, commit your treasure to our shared mission and ministry so that we can continue to build the kingdom together. God wants you—all of you—and God knows that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
**This article was written by the Rev. Dr. Christopher D. Girata and was featured in the 2024 Fall Archangel.