Wednesday, September 2, 2026: Christian discipleship is by nature a very dangerous thing

A Discipleship of Equals:

If I am a child of God, a sister-in-Christ, and belong with all of you to the priesthood of all believers, then my job is to love, not hate, to be creative, not destructive, to follow Christ’s cross. - Pauli Murray, To Speak a Defiant Word

Speaking to the network Women’s Ordination Worldwide, Sister Joan Chittister evokes a vision of Christian discipleship that requires great courage:

Christian discipleship is by nature a very dangerous thing. It has put every person who ever accepted it at risk. It made every follower who ever took it seriously on alert for rejection, from Martin of Tours to John Henry Newman, from Mary Ward to Dorothy Day. Discipleship casts every fragile new Christian community in tension with the times in which it grows. 

In the early church to be a Christian community meant to defy Roman imperialism, to stretch Judaism itself, to counter pagan values with Christian ones. It demanded very concrete presence; it took great courage, unending fortitude and clear public posture. Real discipleship meant the rejection of real things…. It was not easy then and it will not be easy now.

The problem with Christian discipleship is that instead of simply requiring a kind of academic or ascetic exercise … Christian discipleship requires a kind of living that is sure, eventually, to tumble a person from the banquet tables … to the most suspect margins of both church and society. 

To follow Jesus, in other words, is to follow the one who turns the world upside down, even the religious world. Real discipleship is a tipsy arrangement at the very least. People with high need for approval, social status, and public respectability need not apply.

Following Jesus is a circuitous route that leads always and everywhere to places where a ‘nice’ person would not go, to moments of integrity we would so much rather do without.

Christian discipleship is about living in this world the way that Jesus the Christ lived in his—touching lepers, raising donkeys from ditches on Sabbath days, questioning the unquestionable and—consorting with women! Discipleship implies a commitment to leave nets and homes, positions and securities, lordship and legalities to be now—in our own world—what the Christ was for his….

Discipleship is prepared to fly in the face of a world bent only on maintaining its own ends whatever the cost. If discipleship is what you’re here for, be not fooled! The price is a high one and history has recorded it faithfully….

Discipleship is … a way of living that is not political but which has serious political implications…. The disciple takes public issue with the values of a world that advantages only those who are already advantaged…. It takes umbrage at systems that are more bent on keeping improper people out of them than they are in welcoming all people into them. True discipleship takes the side always, always, always of the poor, the minority, the outcast, the reviled, the rejected, the other, despite the power of the rich and powerful.

Story from Homeboy Industries

 August 2013, George Nuñez began his transformative journey at Homeboy Industries as a trainee. Embracing every opportunity, he took full advantage of the classes offered and leaned on the guidance of case managers, who helped him become vulnerable enough to embrace change. 

He attributes much of his growth to the unwavering support of Father Greg Boyle who not only gave him a chance at life but also believed in him when he needed it most. Reflecting on his journey, he acknowledges that while he may not be where he wants to be yet, he's far from where he used to be. He shared, "Homeboy Industries gave me a place and a face. A place to call home. And they gave me a face, meaning I no longer feel the need to have a mask or a brick wall up, anymore. I can be vulnerable and accepting of the real me."