The Master Teacher

~ Jesus was a master teacher. This was a constant mantra in my graduate teaching program; in Christ, we had the only mentor teacher we needed (though they assigned us several others). Jesus is a master teacher. Man, is he ever.

I feel like adult life is one lesson after another in identifying my actual goals and desires. No, not the thing I first think I want – the actual goal. What do I really want? Maybe I think I want my kids to come to the table and eat the dinner we (well…Michael) have prepared for them, but, after struggle and heartache and learning, I realize that what I really want is for my kids to eat and be healthy. And if that’s not at the table, or not what we made first for dinner… it turns out I can live with that. It seems like Jesus understood that much faster than I did.

Dishonesty is one of those clear “thou shalt nots” in the Ten Commandments, and yet in the Gospel today, Jesus holds up as an example a dishonest servant who cheated his employer in order to secure his own future. And the part that really gets me is when (in the long form of the Gospel), Jesus chides his disciples for being less adept at managing worldly resources than dishonest or shrewd businessmen who are very good at manipulating wealth for their own gain. Why in the world would Jesus want us to follow that example?

I wonder if this might be a case of Jesus telling the disciples to use the cards they’ve been dealt. What Jesus really wants is for his followers to focus on the importance of securing their eternal life in Heaven – through a faith in him, which drives good works. But the truth is that, at present, we are living in a capitalist world, and money is part of our daily life. So, Jesus might say – use it. Find a way to use it for what really matters. Like this wily servant, use it to build relationships. Use it to improve the lives of others. Use it to get closer to God, Heaven, and the future that really matters. We all know that Jesus would never say that a good end justifies any means, but Jesus – particularly Luke’s Jesus – does love a story that turns the social order of the world upside down and teaches us to learn lessons in unlikely places. Jesus reminds us that no one is above learning lessons from the actions of others. It’s not a lesson I saw coming, but it’s one I keep learning day in and day out. What a master teacher.

Throughout the year, we present an article in the bulletin each week on a variety of topics, written by a member of our Parish staff or ministries on a rotating basis.