"Me and Jesus"

Some folks talk about their Christian faith as "me and Jesus."  It is a comment which is usually followed with a declaration of independence from the church.  The "Me and Jesus" folks have no need for those Sunday hypocrites who get together in churches.  The "Me and Jesus" people are those who prefer the river, or the golf course, or any place other than the church building.  These folks need no one but Jesus.  "Me and Jesus" makes for a very small community.  

While the "Me and Jesus" person may be espousing what is thought of as a very personal faith, it is actually a distortion of the Christian way.  It is a way Jesus never intended.  He did not call one disciple, or two, but twelve.  He invited each one to live with Him and the rest of the group as a community bound by their devotion to Him.  Each one of those twelve made a commitment to Jesus and to the others when they started the journey.  It was not a perfect group.  They lived with egos that got in the way of community living.  They argued over who was the greatest and who should get seats of honor.  They were at times guilty of saying one thing and living another.  In many ways they modeled a prototype of the church before it was called into being.  Certainly, they looked a lot like those Sunday hypocrites who get together in churches.  

Surely, Jesus called the community of the twelve into being as a way of teaching that disciples do not live alone.  The "Me and Jesus" model simply does not work.  It does not fit the mold laid out by Jesus for His followers to embrace.  We need one another.  We need a community for fellowship, worship, and service.  "Me and Jesus" see no feet to wash.  They cannot hear the sounds of worship or the celebrations of life.  They are claiming the cross as God's gift to them and them alone when it is His gift to the whole world.