Teaching as Vocation and Ministry
Parents and teachers engage in profound work. Parents gift the community with the next generation, and in partnership with teachers nurture them to become people of wisdom and integrity. No work is more profound than that.
For teachers in Catholic schools the gospel is the ground of our being. Through pondering the life and teaching of Jesus we gain insight into what the promise of the gospel – fullness of life – looks like, and how to invite each other to journey into that fullness. Jesus was a lay person. He had no position of power or responsibility in the Jewish faith or the Roman ruling class. Yet two thousand years later his wisdom and his spirit continue to shape the lives of so many. He liked to be called ‘teacher’. And he truly was that. What did he teach? The essence of his teaching was love: love one another as I have loved you, and love your neighbour as yourself. His life and teaching are all about love; showing us what it looks like; pointing out where it was missing. How did he teach? He told stories that connected people with some of the daily routines and trades of his day. The sower – people were food producers; they made containers out of animal skins: don’t put new wine in old skins; The good Samaritan: an ‘outsider’ was more compassionate than the priest and the Levite – the holy ones. Where did he teach? He taught everywhere. His life was a lesson. The way he encountered people; being a companion on a journey; engaging in conversation at table; in the public gathering places; in the temple courtyard….. Another question to ask: Where did Jesus learn? No doubt his first teachers were his parents. With them he learnt to walk, to speak, to pray, to play, to relate, maybe even a trade. But where did the deep wisdom come from? Throughout the gospels we are often told that long before dawn Jesus went to a lonely place to pray; to be in communion with his Abba. So throughout his public life we see this rhythm of solitude and engagement. During those times of solitude was he bringing the experiences of his daily encounters into dialogue with Abba; endeavouring to discern those elements of the culture which were not life giving for the people? Is that where he found the courage to question the religious leaders? A questioning that resulted in death. As teachers we are engaged in the same work but in a different cultural context. We too need a rhythm of solitude and engagement if we are to provide an education that enables those entrusted to us to grow in wisdom and integrity. In our classrooms are the future parents, leaders, business people, artists, academics, etc. If we are to educate well, we too, like Jesus need that rhythm of solitude and engagement. Solitude to remain in touch with the Spirit whispering in the depths of our being; engagement as disciple, to enable God’s mission to be carried out today.
Before engaging in the reflections it might be helpful to ponder and engage in conversation around some of the ideas Gloria Durka explores in her book: The Teacher’s Calling – A spirituality for those who teach.
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