Jesus--Teacher and Lord

As I was reading the Gospel of John this morning, I was struck by the fact of Jesus' teacher-hood. The disciples called him Rabbi, i.e. Teacher. Nicodemus, whom Jesus in turn called “a teacher of Israel” (3:10), said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God” (3:2).

As teacher, Jesus was able to look into the heart of his followers and call forth his vision for them. He called Simon Cephas, i.e. Peter (1:42). He affirmed the integrity of Nathanael: “Behold, an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” (1:47). He even told the woman at the well “everything [she] had ever done” (4:29).

As teacher, Jesus used the everyday things of earth to teach heavenly things. After asking the woman at the well for a drink of water, he told her that he would give her “living water” (4:10). He told his disciples, “I have food to eat that you do not know about” (4:32). He told the crowds, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven” (6:32). He also said, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (6:53).

As teacher, Jesus challenged people’s thinking. When Nicodemus came to him, Jesus revolutionized his idea of the kingdom of God: “no one can see the kingdom of God without being born again” (3:3). Jesus wasn’t into marketing. He wasn’t interested in popularity or profit but rather in the true conversion—-radical change of heart—-of his followers. For that reason, he made no attempt to sugarcoat his teaching. He told it like it was, whether his followers liked it or not. So it is not surprising that eventually, “many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him” (6:66), because they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” (6:60).

As teacher, Jesus boldly confronted his opponents with the bald-faced truth: “I know that you do not have the love of God in you” (5:42). “You are of your father the devil” (8:44). Even so, they couldn’t help but marvel at his teaching: “How does this man have such learning,” they asked, “when he has never been taught?” (7:15). But Jesus did not take the credit but gave tribute to another: “My teaching is not mine but his who sent me” (7:16). Jesus linked himself inextricably to God, whom he called Father, thereby demonstrating in his own person the dependency of every human person upon God, apart from whom humanity only withers and dies (15:6).

As teacher, Jesus served as merciful judge, as in the case of the woman caught in adultery. It was while Jesus was teaching in the Temple that the scribes and Pharisees brought the woman to stand before him. First, he turned the tables on her accusers by saying, “‘Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her” (8:7). Then he addressed the woman, asking her whether any had condemned her. When she said no, he said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and sin no more” (8:11).

However great a teacher Jesus was, though, he demonstrated that he was far more than a teacher. He multiplied the loaves and fishes, walked on water, calmed the storm (ch. 6), healed the lame and the blind (5:2–15; 9:1–12), and raised the dead (ch. 11). He even explicitly declared, “Before Abraham was, I am” (8:58). In response, the disciples began calling him Lord as well as teacher. At the Last Supper, having washed his disciples’ feet, Jesus said, “You call me Teacher and Lord—-and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you” (13:13–15).

After Jesus’ resurrection, having revealed himself to Mary Magdalene in the garden, she called him “Rabbouni!” which is Hebrew for teacher (20:16), but later, in reporting to the other disciples, she said, “I have seen the Lord” (20:18).

Lord Jesus Christ, Teacher, merciful Judge, Savior of our souls, may we ever follow your example, and in this life and in the next offer to you our unceasing thanksgiving, praise, and worship. Amen.

Just a Closer Walk with Thee!

I am weak, but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Refrain

Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.

Refrain

When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o’er
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.

Climbing Monkey Rock

Reading Richard of Saint Victor's Mystical Ark, I am reminded of climbing a mountain once when I was about seven or eight years old when I was attending a school for missionary children. I felt quite alone and scared even though there must have been a couple dozen other children in the group and at least a couple of adults. Most of the older children had quickly climbed on ahead because they had already been there before and knew where they were going. The goal was to reach a certain large rock that was visible from the school where sometimes we would see monkeys playing. We called it Monkey Rock. I used to sit on the teeter-totter on the school grounds and watch the monkeys scamper around on it.

Anyhow, it had rained the day before so the climb was not only steep but slippery. The vegetation along the path had been ripped out by the children who had gone ahead so not only was there was no traction but there was nothing to grab hold of to use to pull myself up with. Another girl ahead of me was in the same predicament. I remember not wanting to give up because I wanted so badly to get to the rock, but feeling hopeless that I would ever get there. I remember digging my fingers into the dirt trying to somehow hold on so I could hoist myself up, but always slipping backward instead of moving forward.

Finally, at a point when I was really starting to feel sorry for myself, one of the big kids came back and gave us a hand so that we could get past that impassable place. And then I remember the exhilaration of finally being able to clamber up the rest of the way and feel my heart race as I looked down and over that massive rock where the monkeys played.

The point, of course, is that I couldn't have done it without that big kid giving me his hand and helping me make it to the top. That's what it's like in the spiritual ascent as well. The Holy Spirit who dwells in us, of course, enables us daily, but sometimes it really does help to have that hand of support offered by a friend.

Let me say thank you to all my friends who have offered their arm of support to me in recent times. I will not forget, and neither will our Lord!

The Entire World Is as a Foreign Land

The man who finds his homeland sweet is still a tender beginner; he to whom every soil is as his native one is already strong; but he is perfect to whom the entire world is as a foreign land. The tender soul has fixed his love on one spot in the world; the strong man has extended his love to all places; the perfect man has extinguished his.

From boyhood I have dwelt on foreign soil, and I know what grief sometimes the mind takes leave of the narrow hearth of a peasant's hut, and I know, too, how frankly it afterwards disdains marble firesides and panelled halls.

~Hugh of St. Victor, 12th century theologian and mystic,
from his Didascalicon, Book 3, Ch. 18

Canticle of the Turning

We've been singing a song at church lately that keeps going through my head. It's called "Canticle of the Turning," and is an Irish version of the Magnificat, the wonderful prayer of our Lord's mother. It's an inspiring expression of trust in the faithfulness of God who hears the cry of the poor. And who is the poor? Anyone who realizes his/her bankruptcy apart from God. It is a song of deliverance for the oppressed, and it has been inspiring me to believe that God will hear and answer when I cry out to him with all my heart:

My soul cries out with a joyful shout that the God of my heart is great,

And my spirit sings of the wondrous things that you bring to the ones who wait.

You fixed your sight on the servant's plight, and my weakness you did not spurn,

So from east to west will my name be blest. Could the world be about to turn?

Antiphon:

My heart shall sing of the day you bring. Let the fires of your justice burn.

Wipe away all the tears, For the dawn draws near,

And the world is about to turn.

Though I am small, my God, my all, you work great things in me,

And your mercy will last from the depths of the past to the end of the age to be.

Your very name puts the proud to shame, and to those who would for you yearn,

You will show your might, put the strong to flight, for the world is about to turn.

Antiphon:

My heart shall sing of the day you bring. Let the fires of your justice burn.
Wipe away all the tears, For the dawn draws near,
And the world is about to turn.

From the halls of power to the fortress tower, not a stone will be left on stone.

Let the king beware, for your justice tears ev'ry tyrant from his throne.

The hungry poor shall weep no more, for the food they can never earn;

There are tables spread, ev'ry mouth be fed, for the world is about to turn.

Antiphon:

My heart shall sing of the day you bring. Let the fires of your justice burn.
Wipe away all the tears, For the dawn draws near,
And the world is about to turn.

Though the nations rage from age to age, we remember who holds us fast:

God's mercy must deliver us from the conqueror's crushing grasp.

This saving word that our forebears heard is the promise which holds us bound,

'Til the spear and rod can be crushed by God, who is turning the world around.

Antiphon:

My heart shall sing of the day you bring. Let the fires of your justice burn.
Wipe away all the tears, For the dawn draws near,
And the world is about to turn.

A Prayer That Says It All

There's another part of the sermon I heard yesterday that I feel must share as well. It was a beautiful prayer that I had never heard before but that I doubt I'll ever forget. It was written by a French priest who went as a missionary to China and who died there as a martyr in 1840, having been tortured, crucified, and suffocated, all because he would not give up preaching the good news of Jesus Christ. Here is the poem:

O my Divine Savior,
Transform me into Yourself.
May my hands be the hands of Jesus.
Grant that every faculty of my body
May serve only to glorify You.

Above all,
Transform my soul and all its powers
So that my memory, will and affection
May be the memory, will and affections
Of Jesus.

I pray You
To destroy in me all that is not of You.
Grant that I may live but in You, by You and for You,
So that I may truly say, with Saint Paul,
"I live - now not I - But Christ lives in me."

- Saint Jean-Gabriel Perboyre

It says it all!

How God Gives Us His Love in Holy Communion

I heard such a wonderful sermon yesterday I feel compelled to share it. The sermon was given in the context of Holy Communion. The Scripture reading on which it was based was John 13, in which Jesus, warning His disciples that He doesn't have much more time to be with them, gives them a new commandment: "Love one another as I have loved you."

"What is love?" asked the preacher. He said love is basically 3 things. It's (1) wanting to be with the loved one, (2) wanting to give good gifts to the loved one, and (3) wanting the loved one to be good.

That is how Jesus loves us, and that is how He wants us to love one another. The preacher spoke of how Jesus loves us through Holy Communion. He loves us in Holy Communion because in instituting this sacrament, Jesus demonstrated His desire not only to be with us, but in us. Jesus also loves us in Holy Communion by giving us a gift that is not only good but indeed the very best that He can possibly give us--the gift of Himself. Finally, He loves us through Holy Communion not only by demonstrating His desire that we be good but by actually enabling us to be good through sharing His life with us.

As I said, it was too good not to share.

Thy Kingdom Come: The Lord's Prayer IV

Thy kingdom come!"

The reason many people would prefer not to pray, "Thy kingdom come," is that in their heart of hearts they really would prefer to pray, "My kingdom come." In other words, "Lord, make me king of my universe. Let me do things the way I want to do them. Don't let me have to listen to what other people want or what You want. Let me tell other people what to do and how to do it. Let me have my own way. " But the true Christian recognizes that the true center of the universe is not self but rather God.

The petition -- "Thy kingdom come"-- sprang very naturally from the lips of Jesus because His whole life was focused on bringing about the kingdom of His Father on earth. It's the cry in the heart of all of Jesus' followers as they begin to realize that the only way this world can be transformed is through the transfer of their loyalties from themselves and from the values established by the prince of this world to the King of heaven who through His teachings and life introduced and embodied new values and who through sacrifice and suffering transformed the world order.

In the kingdom of the heavenly Father which Jesus has reinstituted, all values are reversed. The greatest is the smallest, the strongest is the weakest, and the first is the last. The poor are more blessed than the rich. The humble are more blessed than the proud. The hungry and thirsty are more blessed that those who are full. In the kingdom of the Father, those who are in charge do not lord it over those that they rule. Rather they become the servants of all.

So when we pray, "Thy kingdom come," we are also praying, "Lord, make me the slave of all. Give me a servant's heart like Yours. Let me focus not on what I want but on what You want and on what my brothers and sisters want. Help me to be like You -- may the motivation of my life be not to to be served but to serve." Amen.