Homily outline on “Follow me”

• Introduction: What is Jesus saying?
  • We seem to have come full circle. At the end of John’s Gospel, the last gospel, we find ourselves at the very beginning of the first gospel, Mark (1:16):at the seashore, with men fishing.
• And Jesus’s final words in this passage echo exactly some of his first words in the Markan gospel and the first chapter of this Gospel: “Follow me”  (1:17)
• In these weeks after Easter, it may sound like he is stating the obvious and that the author is framing this gospel this way to drive home a central message of discipleship.
• But maybe there is more to those two words. What is Christ actually asking his disciples, and us in turn, to do?
• What it does it mean to follow?
• The Science: Leadership and Why We Follow
  • “Follow me” is a mantra on social media today. On Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, influence and importance is often measured by how many “followers” someone has.
  • Among various theories, social media experts cite two key reasons why they believe we follow people online:
    • We want to achieve what they have achieved. We see their lives or their work as aspirational and we want to be like them.
    • We like their personal traits and find them appealing. We are attracted to who they are and what they represent
    • (https://displaypurposes.com/blog/why-people-follow-influencers-what-makes-people-follow-you/?utm_source=pocket_mylist)
  • Psychologists have long known that we are social creatures. We need to band together. We need one another to survive and thrive — and to continue a way of life, profess what we value, pass on what we believe.) https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-bandwagon-effect-2795895
• The Power of Leadership
  • This explains our human hunger to follow — but the act of following also demands that we actually have someone to follow. A leader.
  • Management experts and psychologists like to draw up lists of various qualities people look for in leaders — integrity, empathy, courage. But one list mentioned something unexpected: service. The good leader has the ability to serve others. https://nlctb.org/tips/7-traits-of-emotionally-intelligent-leaders/
  • Recent research suggests that an important quality of a leader is his or her ability to build followers through the power of words, especially in defining social identity. A Scientific American study found that for leadership to function well, leaders and followers must be bound by a shared identity and by the quest to use that identity as a blueprint for action. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-new-psychology-of-leadership-2007-08/
  • But what does all this tell us about being followers of Jesus Christ? What does this tell us about discipleship?
• The Takeaway: Christ’s Bold Message for Us Today
  • These notions of following and leadership resonate with us in one way or another because they also hold true for following Jesus Christ.
    • Christian discipleship calls out to us to follow a singular figure of integrity, courage, and purpose.
    • For 20 centuries, people have been drawn to this figure for his message of mercy, compassion, justice, and love.
    • But that is just the beginning.
  • To be a follower of Christ demands even more. Commitment. Sacrifice. Surrender. Maybe even martyrdom.
  • What type of followers does Jesus seek? Authentic, dedicated, passionate.
  • Christ’s invitation — “Follow me” — transcends simple psychology or patterns of human behavior. It goes beyond the easy temptations, clicks and links of social media. It is about following more than person, but following a call to live differently, act differently, interact differently. It is nothing less than a call to conversion of life and heart.