A Great Teacher

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          I’ve had a lot of great teachers in my life, but one that especially comes to mind today is Mrs. Straus.  Mrs. Straus was my first French teacher in seventh grade.  She loved French, she loved teaching, and she really loved her students.  I’m sure that my love of languages today goes all the way back to my very first language teacher almost 40 years ago – Mrs. Straus.  One characteristic I saw in Mrs. Straus was shared by all of the great teachers I was so blessed to have:  they were humble.  You see, all of these great teachers loved to learn, and learning takes a lot of humility.  That’s our message from today’s readings.

          In our first reading, the prophet Isaiah calls us to hear, to listen, to cast away our misdeeds, and humbly learn the ways of the Lord.  Jesus, in our Gospel, also calls us to humility by teaching us what not to do, telling us not to follow the bad example of the scribes and Pharisees, who preach and teach for their own glory.  Jesus makes clear that in the end, we’re all just students.  There is but one teacher, who is God.

          Following God these days takes a lot of humility.  Our society’s general view of a successful life focuses on wealth, power, and independence.  By contrast, God’s ways shine forth in poverty, weakness and dependence on God.   We learn and experience God’s ways through humility.  The fact of the matter is that we’re all dependent on God for everything, if we like it or not, or if we realize it or not.  God is creator, and we are creatures.  All we have, all we need, and even our very existence come from God.  That simple fact is the greatest lesson we can ever learn, and it takes a lot of humility.

          Humility has been called the mother of all virtues for good reason:  when we’re humble, we’re good.  Imagine what an impact a little humility can have.  Each one of us interacts with so many people every day, and people learn something about us and from us in every interaction.  We have so many opportunities to be great teachers.  So we have to ask ourselves, what kind of teacher am I?  Am I like the scribes and Pharisees:  Do I preach but not practice?  Do I lay burdens on people’s shoulders without lifting a finger to help them?  Am I proud and egotistical?  Or am I like Jesus – the one great teacher:  gentle, meek and humble of heart?  There’s only one way to be a great teacher:  Be a great student!  Follow Jesus, and humbly learn from him.

Readings:  Isaiah 1:10, 16-20; Psalm 50; Matthew 23: 1-12