Always learning

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."               --  John 8:12

            Who was your favorite teacher?  Was it a parent, or coach?  A schoolteacher who spent extra time with you?  Maybe a friend who listened and gave you advice, or an adult who took you under their wing when you were young?  I had many wonderful teachers in my formative years.  My sixth grade teacher taught me to love reading, and my eighth grade English teacher encouraged my writing.  My college instructors helped me find answers to some big questions, and my professors in seminary helped me clarify and strengthen my beliefs.  I continue to learn from colleagues and the extraordinary pastors I’ve had the privilege to know and observe. 

            But I’d have to say my favorite teacher is my father.  Not only did he influence me in many ways through the patient, loving way he treated me, but even today he is someone who is always learning and sharing what he learns.  When I was little, he’d read to me – not just children’s books, either.  As I got older, he’d sit patiently and give me little lectures on electronics and music, history and other cultures.  He tried teaching me German long before I took it in High School.  He showed me how to take pictures and develop them in a dark room.  He introduced me to spirituality, and the idea that God is bigger than any of our ideas about God.

            The most important thing I’ve learned from all these teachers is that we all have a lot to learn, both from and about the one teacher who stands apart – Jesus of Nazareth.  He was surely the most interesting man in the world, and the greatest teacher of all time.  We know he was called “rabbi” which means teacher, but what exactly did Jesus teach?  We know people were amazed at what he said, and followed him because his teachings were unlike anything they had heard before, but what did they hear that fascinated them so much?

            Fundamentally, Jesus taught that people could live a life defined not by their human birth, but by their relationship to God.  To do that, we could be “born again” and undergo a re-centering of our lives.  His contemporaries had trouble understanding this, even those he spoke with face to face (John 3).  He explained what life re-centered in God might be like in his famous Sermon on the Mount.   Going back to the Scriptures and the Laws of Moses, Jesus presents the Jewish tradition not as a set of rules, but as a fresh way to live and as attitudes which reflect the kingdom of God. 

            It was still difficult for Jesus’ listeners to grasp what a radically new proposal he was making.  People crave rules and instructions where everything is all spelled out for them.  But Jesus wanted us to break free of the constraints that go along with living under the Law and find a new freedom in faith.  So instead of “how-tos” or “dos and don’ts,” Jesus gives us parables. 

            The parables are seemingly simple stories that illustrate aspects of our relationship with God and others.  When the disciples asked Jesus why he spoke in parables, Jesus said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”  In other words, the parables communicate their wisdom only to those who are ready for it, open to it, and accepting of it.  Along with his Sermon on the Mount, the parables of Jesus contain his most profound and powerful ideas.

            This Lent, we will be exploring some of these teachings of Jesus in a series of special services called the Parables of Lent. From Ash Wednesday (February 18) through Easter Sunday (April 5), these services will focuses on a biblical parable that connects to Lenten themes.  Coming up in February, the Ash Wednesday service is based on the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. In this parable, the tax collector who repents goes home justified, while the proud Pharisee does not. The parable reminds us that we who repent are justified through Christ. Week One in the series (February 25) is based on the parable of the sower and the seed. In this parable, the seed that falls on fertile soil takes root and grows, while seeds in other soils fail.  This parable teaches that when we are open to receiving it, the Word of Christ flourishes within us.

            You’ve heard the saying, “You learn something new every day.”  Hopefully, you find that to be true.  The life in Christ is an invitation to always be learning, always growing in understanding and wonder.  Come and join us Wednesdays in the season of Lent as we hear the words of our greatest teacher, and seek ways to follow him in our world today.

Peace,

Pastor Scott