Re: Being a disciple of Jesus is not enough

I am not sure I totally understand your reasoning, but I would like to offer a few comments and ask a couple questions.

First, I see our call to be like Christ not necessarily his disciples. Not in the sense that we offer salvation through our blood or that we are the Word made flesh, but that we are called to bring the kingdom into our context. Christ came and announced the Kingdom of God into a particular community and much of His life was spent explaining what that meant (through teaching and actions). We have been given the same challenge through passages such as Matthew 28:19 or Mark 16:15. Therefore to be a discple of Jesus is enough, not because we act like all other who have been called to be his disciple, but because we act like Jesus.

Second, the call to announce the impending judgment and salvation of God is as relevant today as it was for the community of disciples. Even though we live this side of the tomb (and the destruction of the temple) God is still acting in judgment and salvation, and there is a final parousia still to be inacted (the method of this can be debated elsewhere). Therefore I find the ministry of Christ and his disciples to be very formative in this regard.

Third, are we not all the bearers of the DNA for the future people of God? Each successive generation of disciples faces its own opposition, rather it is intense opposition from outside or lethargic conviction on the inside. To be a disciple is to care for the future of the people of God. We join in a long line of disciples and if we truly understand our role we effect the next generations by what we teach and how we act. This idea might have been placed in the background for much of modernity as the focus became more about a personal relationship, but that does not mean it is no less true. So while yes we have been taken beyond this narrative through both history and eschatalogy, this narrative still can be found as useful in determining our teaching and action today.

OK, a few final questions: —What should be normative? Where would you propose we look for our examples? —The Gospel of Luke presents a community much less concerned about an imminent return of Christ and calls for much more in terms of being the community of Christ (loving each other, caring for the poor, etc.). How would you reconcile this Gospel with what you see in Mark?