Discipleship and Learning
Discipleship and Learning
I was asked this week about discipleship and learning. Since this is such an important subject, I would like to speak to you about it.
The Christian life is a life of discipleship, and all who believed in Christ were called disciples of the Lord. When the Lord Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount, the Bible says: “His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying…”
Those who believed through John the Baptist were also called disciples of John. And when the Lord Jesus sent the apostles, He told them: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”
The Christian life, therefore, is a life of discipleship. When the man born blind defended Christ, they said to him: “You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples!”
Whoever follows Christ is His disciple. In the apostolic era, the Bible says: “The number of disciples multiplied greatly,” meaning the number of believers. Every person is supposed to be discipled according to the life of Christ. Discipleship does not merely mean hearing lectures or lessons, but rather living and absorbing the teachings and life of Christ. All believers hear the Gospel during the liturgies and prayers, but does that make them true disciples of Christ?
To answer this, we must look at the conditions of discipleship. Christ said in John 8:31: “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples.” Meaning that merely hearing His words does not make one His disciple — what matters is to abide in His word, train oneself in it, and transform it into life. That is true discipleship!
Christ also said there are people who cannot be His disciples, such as:
One who does not leave his father and mother.
One who puts his hand to the plow and looks back.
One who does not deny himself and take up his cross.
So discipleship does not simply mean hearing words. If you do not deny yourself, carry your cross, and leave all for Christ’s sake, you cannot be His disciple.
Christ also gave another condition to the apostles: “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Thus, discipleship is a certain way of life — a life lived according to commandments and teachings, from which one draws to live spiritually.
Let us look at the types of discipleship:
- Discipleship through Words Some people are discipled through words — they learn from a teacher who gives them guidance, counsel, and teaching. Many travelers would cross lands and seas to reach the Fathers of the desert to receive from them a “word of benefit.” Such a person treasures what he hears, trains himself in it, and makes it the rule of his life. Every good word he hears, he keeps in his heart and does not forget — that is a good disciple. But the one who forgets what he hears is a failed disciple.
Some people remain disciples for their entire lives, for Christian discipleship never ends; we remain disciples of the commandments and words of God throughout our lives, no matter our rank or age. We hear that Pope Theophilus, the 23rd Patriarch, used to visit the desert monks to be discipled and to hear a word of benefit. Many great people sought discipleship and spiritual benefit, gathering wisdom from any source. Scripture says: “To listen is better than to speak.”
We also read that St. Macarius the Great, the founder of monasticism in Scetis, once met the young monk Zacharias and said: “My son Zacharias, give me a word to benefit me.” The boy bowed and said: “My father, you are the lamp and light of the wilderness, and you ask me for a word?” But St. Macarius replied: “My son, the Holy Spirit dwelling in you has revealed that you possess something I lack, and I want to learn it.”
St. Macarius was a great example of a man eager to learn. The one who truly desires learning and discipleship benefits from every spiritual insight, whatever its source.
St. Ephraim the Syrian once met a sinful woman who stared at him. He rebuked her, saying, “Are you not ashamed to look at me this way?” She replied, “I was taken from man — so I look at the man from whom I was taken. And you were taken from dust — look at the dust from which you were taken!” St. Ephraim learned wisdom from her words.
Even the reason St. Anthony the Great went to live in the desert was because of a sinful woman who told him, “If you were truly a monk, you would live in the mountains and deserts.” And he did!
The one who seeks benefit and learning gathers lessons from anywhere and draws nourishment for his soul eager for discipleship.
- Discipleship through Life This means learning by observing and imitating lives of virtue without words. Once, Pope Theophilus visited a monastery, and the people asked Abba Paphnutius — known for his silence — to say a word for the Pope’s benefit. He replied, “If he does not benefit from my silence, he will not benefit from my words either.” That was a lesson in itself.
When Abba Shishoy was asked to teach a new novice, he did not give him instructions or advice for a long time. When questioned about this, he said, “I am not a superior to command him, but I work before him, and he can learn by seeing and doing likewise.”
A true teacher is not one who speaks much, but one whose life is a living lesson. Learn from virtuous examples around you!
St. Anthony, in the beginning of his monastic life, had no guide to teach him. He learned by observing the hermits — taking the virtue of silence from one, humility from another, and detachment from a third — like a bee gathering nectar from many flowers.
Our mistake is expecting to find all virtues in one person. Rather, learn one good trait from each person you meet — that is the spirit of discipleship: to absorb life.
Once, a group visited St. Anthony to learn from him. Each asked questions, except one who sat silently, gazing at the saint. When St. Anthony asked him why, he answered, “It is enough for me to look upon your face, Father.” He wanted to learn from the saint’s gentle and peaceful countenance.
Your ears are not the only organs for learning — your eyes are also teachers. Look, observe, and learn from life itself.
St. Arsenius the Great rarely spoke, yet people learned deeply from his silence, calmness, and spiritual diligence. Many hermits were themselves living sermons. We even learn from the lives of those who have passed away — that is why we read the lives of the saints: to learn from their example.
Christ said that the Queen of the South will rise in judgment and condemn this generation, for she came from afar to hear Solomon’s wisdom — and behold, One greater than Solomon is here!
She traveled a great distance to learn wisdom — a lesson for us all. In the Scriptures, God gave us the lives of prophets and apostles so that we might be discipled through their examples: “Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.”
Therefore, if you have seen righteous people in your life and failed to learn from them, they will testify against you on the Last Day, just as the Queen of the South will.
Discipleship is not only through reading, but also through life. Children who cannot read still learn by observing. You will be judged if you give children bad examples that harm their lives or fail to provide them with good models.
Learn from every good virtue you see — whether in Christians or non-Christians. Christ Himself praised the centurion saying, “I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel.” He also taught us through the Samaritan woman and the Canaanite woman. Learn from life — both the life you live and the life you read about.
- Discipleship through Books This type is learning through reading spiritual books full of virtues, guidance, and holy examples. Read and learn from them. If no one teaches you, be taught by books. The one who desires discipleship must read much, reflect deeply, and hunger for knowledge, as the Bible says: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
Origen, the great scholar, used to rent libraries and spend the night reading until morning.
We have so many books — so why do we not read? These many printed works and abundant writings will stand as witnesses against us on the Last Day, for we refused to learn and be discipled.
Read much, my brothers, and be disciples. Let this be your spiritual exercise — to read abundantly!
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Article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, published in Watani Newspaper on September 3, 1972.
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