Jesus invites Philip to “Follow me” and Philip does.  Twelve other times in the gospels Jesus asks someone to follow him, and they do.  Today, in reflecting on the “follow me” invitations that Jesus offered during His time on earth, I thought about the personal charisma that He must have possessed.  I also thought about charisma generally and how I have encountered and observed it in my own life.

I first recall seeing a charismatic person in the 1960 U.S. Presidential race, when I saw television excerpts of then candidate and later President Kennedy.  His youth, his charm, his choice of language, the manner in which he connected with people, even those he never met, was remarkable.  His inauguration speech was so inspiring and uplifting to not only a 6th grader but the country at large. 

A few years later I became interested in history, and documentaries, and saw excerpts of Adolf Hitler’s speeches to the German population.  I did not know what he was saying (I don’t speak or understand German) but I could see the fervor of his comments and hear the thunderous applause of the audience.  Clearly, he had charisma and was connecting with his people.

What strikes me today about juxtaposing Jesus’ simple “follow me” and Kennedy’s speeches and Hitler’s diatribes, besides the motives, is the fact that Jesus had a close personal interaction with the people He invited.  This was by necessity – there was no mass media 2,000 years ago.  Modern political leaders certainly “press the flesh” in smaller settings, but also have been able to use mass communication media to extend their reach.  But when Kennedy was killed, when Hitler lost the war and committed suicide, the personal impacts they had on their populations also quickly dissipated.  There still were “Kennedy democrats” and his brothers tried to emulate him and carry on his legacy.  With Hitler’s defeat and death, the whole movement died, although hate groups continue to try to use his playbook of hatred and disgruntlement to gain political power even today.

When my wife and I married in 1973, one of the songs we chose for the ceremony was “Follow Me” by John Denver.  The initial refrain says:

“Follow me where I go, what I do, who I know
Make it part of you to be a part of me.
Follow me up and down,
All the way and all around,
Take my hand and say you’ll follow me.”

In the final refrain the last line is changed to “Take my hand and I will follow you.”

I don’t think the gospels refer to Jesus singing, but I can imagine Jesus singing the refrain from this song to invite me to follow Him and to live my life as He teaches.  The last line of the final refrain is on me – asking me to actually make the commitment.  Making a commitment, and living the commitment, is difficult.  Where does Jesus go, what does He do, who does He know?  Isn’t He asking me to step outside my comfort zone? 

How do we, who profess to be His followers, follow Him “up and down, all the way and all around?”  How do we welcome immigrants and asylum seekers?  Do we provide food and shelter and clothing to people who find themselves hungry or homeless or without warm winter coats?  How do we comfort those of our sisters and brothers who are struggling with their gender identity?  Do we seek first to understand, before we clamor to be understood, when women are confronted with difficult decisions about their bodies and pregnancies?  How do we respond to our fellow citizens who break the law and need to be incarcerated?  How do we lessen the persistent levels of poverty and starvation and disease in our neighborhoods and villages and cities and around the world?  How do we use this beautiful gift of creation and steward it for future generations?

It is easy to get caught up in a crowd professing allegiance to a charismatic leader.  It is much more difficult to order our individual lives to follow the inspiring message.  And so, my prayer today is for the grace to have the strength to say to Jesus:  “Take my hand and I will follow you,” in my intentions and actions and deeds.