“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will
give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever - the Spirit of
truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows
him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” (John 14: 15-17)
God’s life-plan led me down the pathway of becoming a professional educator. So the role of Jesus as a teacher has been a focal point for much of my Biblical reflections. What does this verse from the Gospel of John teach me? How can my actions positively impact others and me?
The Gospel of John shows through Jesus’ teachings and actions that He is the Christ, the Son of God. John 14:6 states: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.“ This Gospel emphasizes individual relationship to Jesus rather than the corporate nature of the church. John 14:15 challenges us to show our love for Christ by keeping His commandments. While John 14:16-17 reassures us that although we cannot see or know him, Christ’s love always abides with us through the Holy Spirit, for generation through generation.
With that thought in mind, here is my “teacher” story. Teachers have classes, but teaching is about individuals. God’s plan seems to be for us to connect with certain individuals. I had a student, Courtney, whom I have remained in contact with for over 15 years now. She decided to become a teacher, and then God called her to enter a community of religious sisters in Tennessee. When I received her 2016 Christmas card, she told me she had been called to a parochial school in Virginia. The school, St Thomas of Aquinas, is the same school where my granddaughter, Katie, is a third grader! Wow - small world!! She is not Katie’s teacher (yet??), but they have connected. Katie says: “Grandma, she makes my day every morning when she says hi.” And Sister Mary Agatha says: “Katie makes my day every morning when she gives me a big smile.”
So how does this story connect to John’s Gospel? Jesus taught that His love and His advocate - the Spirit of truth - live within us and guide us. Whenever we share our love, we advocate for Christ; and even our simplest actions of love (something as seeming so small as a hi or a smile) are passed on generation through generation.
Sylvia Wadsworth
"Love takes up where knowledge leaves off." - Thomas Aquinas
God’s life-plan led me down the pathway of becoming a professional educator. So the role of Jesus as a teacher has been a focal point for much of my Biblical reflections. What does this verse from the Gospel of John teach me? How can my actions positively impact others and me?
The Gospel of John shows through Jesus’ teachings and actions that He is the Christ, the Son of God. John 14:6 states: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.“ This Gospel emphasizes individual relationship to Jesus rather than the corporate nature of the church. John 14:15 challenges us to show our love for Christ by keeping His commandments. While John 14:16-17 reassures us that although we cannot see or know him, Christ’s love always abides with us through the Holy Spirit, for generation through generation.
With that thought in mind, here is my “teacher” story. Teachers have classes, but teaching is about individuals. God’s plan seems to be for us to connect with certain individuals. I had a student, Courtney, whom I have remained in contact with for over 15 years now. She decided to become a teacher, and then God called her to enter a community of religious sisters in Tennessee. When I received her 2016 Christmas card, she told me she had been called to a parochial school in Virginia. The school, St Thomas of Aquinas, is the same school where my granddaughter, Katie, is a third grader! Wow - small world!! She is not Katie’s teacher (yet??), but they have connected. Katie says: “Grandma, she makes my day every morning when she says hi.” And Sister Mary Agatha says: “Katie makes my day every morning when she gives me a big smile.”
So how does this story connect to John’s Gospel? Jesus taught that His love and His advocate - the Spirit of truth - live within us and guide us. Whenever we share our love, we advocate for Christ; and even our simplest actions of love (something as seeming so small as a hi or a smile) are passed on generation through generation.
Sylvia Wadsworth
"Love takes up where knowledge leaves off." - Thomas Aquinas
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