Bachelor Of Arts Religious Studies

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Browsing Bachelor Of Arts Religious Studies by Author "MAROTTIPARAMBIL, JOSEPH"

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    THE DISCIPLESHIP IN LUKE: MARY AS THE PERFECT DISCIPLE
    (Tangaza University College, 2005) MAROTTIPARAMBIL, JOSEPH
    Luke, the author of the two-volume literary creation, which we refer to as Luke Acts, believes that God has a plan by which human beings can gain eternal salvation. This plan was revealed by God in the Old Testament by prophesies and promises and at last through the ministry of Jesus Christ. The Christian community of Luke includes of all people without having any partiality of religion, culture, family, economic status, language etc, and all those who follow Christ sincerely as true disciple of Him. According to Luke this discipleship of Christ is not an accidental, but rather the real plan of God for the salvation of all. Discipleship is an act of God, a miracle of divine grace (Job 10:12-13; Zech 8:5-8; Gen 18.14) and one can only receive it in obedience and surrender (Acts 9:1-22). The Lucan style in which he has arranged his discipleship texts in the journey narrative (Lk 9:23-27; 9:57-62; 14:25-35; 18:24-30) not only gives them a permanent and lasting value, but also makes one think of discipleship itself as a journey (Lk 9:51.53; 10:1; 13:22) a course (Acts 13:25; 20:24) and a way (Lk 1:79; 20:21). It is the course that Jesus has once entered and (Acts 13:24) and now finished (Lk 9:31). It is a course which disciples must follow now (Heb 12:1-2). It is an invitation and a challenge offered to all opening out unbounded opportunities to live and grow in the service of the Kingdom. But every one is free to accept or reject this costly commitment. Being such a fantastic story teller, Luke portrays the elements of discipleship in his gospel including women disciples. Bringing Mary into the scene, as the one exemplifies all of the disciples 'who hear the word of God, keep it and live it (Lk 1:38; 11:28, 38-48) in her life as a true follower. For the disciples of Jesus in the gospel of Luke Jesus mandates a response from the followers, by way of renouncing their possessions and sharing with the poor what they have and follow Jesus radically with a whole heart and mind. Luke orients his gospel towards arousing in the disciple an intense love for God and his people. He works systematically all through his teaching on discipleship that the path of love leads to a true union with God which is the ultimate goal of a disciple. The evangelist, who speaks about women disciples, does not hesitate to bring Mary as Jesus' first and perfect disciple. Luke gives enough exegetical evidence to stress his idea. Discipleship is a life long commitment for Luke; and if so Mary is the best ideal for discipleship. My task here is to depict the Lucan picture on discipleship. In order to do that, in the first chapter I will analyze the discipleship and its meaning in the Old Testament namely in the Jewish tradition. The chapter ends with the basic requirements of discipleship, especially in the New Testament. The second chapter mainly deals with the Lucan picture of Discipleship; where he portrays it as a journey. Also the chapter explains the characteristics of discipleship in the Lucan point of view, which helps us to understand the real flow of Lucan 2 theology of discipleship — as an ongoing response to the call of Jesus. The chapter ends with the Lucan idea on women's discipleship. The third chapter is the climax of our study where both first and the second chapters are heading to. It analyzes the discipleship of Mary the Mother Jesus. I try to analyze with Lucan background that how Mary becomes the perfect disciple of Jesus and how she challenges the modem women with the model of discipleship. Christians today look to Jesus and his disciples in Luke-Acts for examples to imitate in their own journeys with Jesus. We can fulfill the missionary responsibility in our community as well as in foreign lands by preaching the good news of God's salvation, by following Jesus and leading a life of humble service. By portraying Jesus as a model of compassion who is particularly attentive to the question of social and economic justice, Luke tells us that those who wish to do the will of God must place themselves at the service of others. This service ethic includes adopting a life style which, in many respects, is radically opposed to the standards of this world.