Disciples and Master
John Michael Talbot

Jesus called disciples to follow him by radically renouncing all their possessions, personal relationships, and even their very selves. In this he fell clearly into the age-old pattern of disciple and master from every major religion of the world.

A "disciple," embraces the "discipline," of the area they are learning. In our case this is spirituality. But a very real discipline is universally required in the classical traditions of religious discipleship.

The disciple was called to renounce all the possessions, relationships, and even the self-image, that had enslaved them up until the time of response to the call. They also became completely obedient to the master in order to let go of their addiction to the false ego and self-will.

Through a period of many years of training the disciple received the spirit of the teacher, and is said to "stand upon the shoulders" of the teacher. This is called the "transmission" of the objective and mystical fullness of the teaching. Here they receive not only the external objective teaching of the master, but also the inner spirit of the teacher, and all of their successive predecessors. A succession of great wisdom and mystical power was believed to have been transmitted in this process, and had to be authenticated by the master teacher in order to be seen as valid. This can be clearly seen in the Sannyasin tradition of Hinduism, and the monastic tradition of Buddhism, just to name two.

Jesus falls squarely into this whole master-disciple tradition with the calling of the first disciples, and the giving of his Spirit to the Church. Furthermore, there has been an authentic succession of apostles, and Christ's vicar, through the bishops and the Bishop of Rome. The Spirit of Jesus has been authentically transmitted from one generation to the next through two thousand years of history. A less formal "succession of saints" developed under that general authority through the founders of consecrated religious communities and lay people who became the charismatic masters and teachers of an extra ordinary call to discipleship within the Church.

This later heritage is seen in the monastic tradition of the Christian east and west that existed under the more general authority of the successors to the apostles in the bishops. In the deserts of the east the original monastic founders and leaders were called, "abbe," or, "spiritual father." God the Father and Jesus were seen as the primary spiritual father, but these holy men were seen as those who succeeded in the transmission of the more radical call to discipleship in the Church.

The role of this Abbe was primarily spiritual. They gave general talks to the disciples, and led them by example. The disciple was to make a revealing "confession" of, not only sins as in sacrament of penance, but of all temptations and general thoughts as well, to the spiritual father. Only then can the master really know what is going on in the disciple's spiritual life. This is radical.

But this was not a long counseling session, an attempt to manipulate the disciple by the teacher, or an opportunity to try and justify oneself before the master. It was an exercise of radical letting go of self on the part of the disciple before the elder monk. It took place in a rather short exchange between the disciple and spiritual father that sometimes concluded with a fatherly tap on the monk's forehead, as if to say, "get your thoughts straight."

This was also seen in the Christian west culminating with the Rule of St. Benedict. While the emphasis in Benedict's Rule is moderation, the presence of the traditional lay spiritual father is clear. A "revelation of thoughts" to the Abbot that was similar to the practice of the monks of the east was lovingly practiced in his community.

Today, beyond the general apostolic succession through the bishops of the Church, this ministry is passed on through the formal episcopal leadership of the Church, and the communities and movements of the Church. In the latter, there are also two ways: First, through the election of an abbot by a monastic community, and their due confirmation by the authority of the Church, and second, through the recognition by the Church of new consecrated communities or movements, and their legitimate founders and spiritual fathers and mothers. Both insure an authentic transmission of the primary role of Jesus the Master in the disciple's lives.

How about us? Do we really submit our spiritual life to the scrutiny of a qualified spiritual teacher? Have we gone through a renunciation of our possession, relationships, and ego, and submitted that process to the discernment of one who has walked the way before? While no teacher is ever perfect in this life, does our teacher have a legitimate authentication through the authority of the Church? This disciple-master relationship is radical and sometimes difficult in today's environment of cafeteria-style spirituality. But if we can find a teacher, and have the perseverance to stay with them through the unfolding of many years, we will find a reward that makes the sacrifice well worth it. We will find a real spiritual home with a true spiritual father and mother, in a world where the stability of the natural family is fast disappearing.

This article was part of a 20-week series originally published in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper between July 14 and November 24, 2001