Sequel to Does Anybody Really Want to Be HIS Disciple?
ChatGPT Prompt (condensed)
Pick three diverse pre-reformation figures. Write a skit where they reply from this note from me about taking Luke 9:23 as a cruciform blueprint for daily discipleship.
Ernie’s Note
“It strikes me that the church has rarely taken seriously the definition of discipleship used by Jesus in Luke 9:23, particularly in the Pauline sense of being crucified with Christ — daily! What might it look like to do that, without falling back into religious clichés?”
Scene 1: The Letter Arrives
( Benedict of Nursia reads Ernie’s note aloud. Ignatius of Antioch slams his fist on the table. Catherine of Siena bursts into laughter.)
Ignatius:
“Finally! A question worth bleeding for. No clichés, eh? Good. Because the cross is no metaphor, Ernie. It’s not jewelry. It’s not traffic. It’s death.”
Catherine:
(teasing) “Oh, Ignatius, must you scare him in the first breath? You’ll send him running before we even sharpen the nails.”
Benedict:
(deadpan, folding the letter) “I think the boy wants to know how to live crucified, not just die crucified. Which means he’ll need more than lions and poetry. He’ll need rhythm. He’ll need teaspoons.”
Ignatius:
(snorts) “Teaspoons bore me.”
Catherine:
“Teaspoons sanctify you.”
Scene 2: They Start to Answer
Ignatius:
“Ernie, the near-miss you must avoid is making discipleship safe. In my day, following Christ meant Rome’s executioners. In your day, it still means death—the ego’s death. Wake each morning as if already condemned, and you will be free (Galatians 2:20).”
Benedict:
(nods) “And the next near-miss: dabbling. Discipleship is not a hobby, or a weekend retreat. It is the daily crucifixion of the will. Folding laundry with humility, listening when you’d rather talk, staying when you’d rather run. Lions may be quick, but laundry lasts longer.”
Catherine:
(grinning) “And finally, beware the joyless near-miss: treating the cross like a tax form to be filed. The cross is not drudgery, it is a wedding bed. To deny yourself is to make room for Love; to take up your cross is to be pierced with His desire; to follow Him is to be ravished into union (Philippians 3:10). If you do not love, you will not last.”
Scene 3: Debate at the Table
Ignatius:
“But Catherine, don’t soften it with too much perfume. Christ’s cross is nails and blood!”
Catherine:
(eyes blazing) “And nails and blood are precisely how He woos the soul! You think me soft? I have lain on the stones until my flesh burned with His presence. Don’t tell me I don’t know crucifixion.”
Benedict:
(sips calmly) “Both of you are right, but Ernie cannot survive on zeal and fire alone. He needs a rule. Without rhythm, Ignatius’ passion burns out; without structure, Catherine’s love drifts. Ora et labora—pray and work. That is daily crucifixion in teaspoons (Romans 6:4–5).”
Ignatius:
(grudgingly) “Fine. But don’t let him mistake teaspoons for safety.”
Catherine:
“And don’t let him mistake nails for despair.”
Scene 4: Collaborative Conclusion
(They lean forward together, as if dictating their answer to Ernie.)
Ignatius:
“Avoid trivial crosses. Stop baptizing your inconveniences. Embrace the death of self.”
Benedict:
“Avoid dabbling. Let discipleship become your rhythm, your habit, your very breath.”
Catherine:
“Avoid joyless duty. Let the cross be the fire of love that weds you to Christ.”
All three together, passionately:
“So, Ernie, deny yourself. Take up your cross. Follow Him—into death, into love, into life. Anything less is cliché. Anything more is the gospel.”
(They exchange a knowing smile.)
Benedict:
“Well, at least we didn’t tell him to give up dessert.”
Ignatius:
“Speak for yourself.”
Catherine:
(laughing) “If he falls in love with Jesus, dessert will take care of itself.”
(Lights fade on the cross at the center of the table.)
Radically Happy 
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