I have been an educator for most of my professional life. Paul’s speech to the Church of Ephesus reminds me of a commencement speech or perhaps words that I have given to my students on the last day of class. As difficult as the educational process can be for both teacher and student, there is an undeniable joy in it and sadness in its ending. Clearly Paul is communicating that he has poured his heart and soul into teaching them over three years and in quoting Jesus’s famous axiom that “it is more blessed to give than to receive” he summarizes well the happiness that all teachers feel as their students progress.
But he also captures the angst that one feels in students slipping from one’s grasp. As they process out in those robes and with those tassels turned you know in your heart that there are indeed wolves out there and you can no longer protect them. They are much more on their own and you the teacher have to hope that your teachings will keep them safe. I feel this doubly so this year as I have two of my five children graduating (one from high school and one from college). As a parent you want them to be kept safe from the wolves and pray that your teachings and those of others will protect them and that they will not be led astray.
Clearly Paul was a great teacher. But consider as well what all of this says about the reality of the Resurrection. I was musing with my parish priest a couple of weeks ago about why Christianity didn’t die out as a small cult. Its leader was tortured and publicly executed in the most humiliating possible way. Its followers were scared and in hiding. Yet it survived and flourished. Something very real must have happened on that very first Easter. Paul was a great teacher because he taught the Truth.
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Since its inception in 1997, Online Ministries has been blessed to have myriad members of the Creighton University community offer their personal reflections on the daily scripture readings.
