All Christians are called to be disciples of Jesus Christ. To be a disciple of Jesus is no trivial call. Jesus made it clear that a disciple must love God with everything he has (Mt22:37), must sell everything (Mk10:21), must love his enemies (Mt5:44), must be willing to lay down his life (Jn15:13).
In the early days of Christianity persecution was a likely consequence of giving your life to God and living by the teachings of Christ. Even today, the Christian teachings on gossip, sexuality, material possessions, Sunday as a Holy Day, are very contrary to the accepted norms of secular society. To be a disciple of Jesus is today once again a radical choice.
But even in the early days of the Church it was not possible to life the faithful life of a disciple on your own energy. A disciple knows his reliance on God’s strength. Members of the Community of Nazareth seek to respond to the teaching of Jesus in a radical way, knowing that this is only possible by the grace of the Holy Spirit.
The term ‘disciple’ implies a person who wants to learn, a person who wants to be changed by the teachings of Jesus. This involves a change of behaviour as well as a change of attitude (Rom12:2, Eph4:22).
The members of the Community of Nazareth have heard an invitation from God to live as radical disciples of Christ. We try to respond to this invitation but we know we cannot do this on our own strength. We rely on the strength of God through receiving Jesus and the Holy Spirit in Word and in Sacrament.