With the beginning of the new school year just underway, a lot of people―especially
students and their parents―are
directing their attention upon teachers. We’re still “sizing them up,”
so to speak, perhaps to see if teachers are going live up to our hopes
and expectations―as
high as we’ve set them―or
down to our suspicions and fears―as
deep as they may be.
With the eyes of
students and parents focused squarely upon them, teachers surely are
subject to a lot of intense private and public scrutiny. And while
every student wants to have and every parent wants each of their
children to have a “good” teacher
(and, by the
way, most students and parents believe they know infallibly what that
means although frequently that is not known until after years pass), we
all know that teachers are human beings, just like parents. For the
most part, teachers are well-intentioned, hard working, and proficient
in all that they do in their classrooms. At the same time, we all know
that teachers are not perfect and, just like you and me, have their
strengths and weaknesses, good and bad moments, and ups and downs as
well.
What all of us hope
and expect―and
I believe this counts for most teachers as well―is
that their strengths and good moments and ups far outweigh their
weaknesses and bad moments and downs so that every student benefits by
participating in every teacher’s classroom. At the same time, what most
of us are suspicious of and fear is that a teacher may have that one
horribly bad moment causing a student the type of harm which, when it
happens, seems almost impossible to repair and sometimes results in an
emotional scar that is very difficult to overcome and only after a very
long time, if ever.
In today’s gospel,
Jesus likens discipleship to being a teacher. And in this particular
lesson, Jesus doesn’t focus upon good teachers but bad teachers and, in
particular, how failure in the role of teacher of the faith and morals
is a very bad thing not only for the student but, even more so, for the
disciple whose responsibility and obligation is to teach faith and
morals. Listen to what Jesus says:
“Whoever causes one
of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for
him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown
into the sea.”
Whether we like it
or not, that’s you and me Jesus is talking about! And, he isn’t
painting a very pretty portrait if, through our words and actions, we
cause any “little one” to sin. Jesus tells us that we’d be better off
dead at the bottom of a lake than that place where our failure will lead
us. “Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God…,” Jesus says,
“…than…to be thrown into Gehenna….”
Now, Gehenna isn’t
quite the vision of Hell our imagination conjures up of the eternal
Inferno Dante portrayed so vividly and graphically in his Divine
Comedy.
Unfortunately, it’s
worse.
For the ancient
Jews, Gehenna conjured up vivid and graphic memories as well as the
putrid stench of the Valley of Hinnom which ran to the south and west of
Jerusalem. The valley had a long history, dating back to the ancient
times, when Israel’s kings allowed child sacrifice and one king actually
sacrificed his own children in that valley. Recall early in Israel’s
history how God stayed Abraham’s hand from slaying his son, Isaac. For
ancient Israel, this was a crucial turning point in their faith and
moral development as God’s Chosen People. For the ancient Jews, faith
and morality did not require that a father offer one’s first born son to
God as the gods of their neighbors demanded; no, faith in the One, True,
and Living God required listening to His voice in the events of one’s
life and walking the pathway that led away from the security of Haran
and into the insecurity of the unknown future trusting always in God,
just as Abraham did.
Over many
generations, the Jews came to view the Valley of Hinnom as the dwelling
place of Evil, a good for nothing place, fit only to serve as a garbage
dump. It was here that the city burned its rubbish. But, it was also
the place where the bodies of executed criminals and dead animals were
sent to be incinerated. The fires burned constantly. And, when the
winds shifted from the northwest to the southwest, the putrid stench of
the maggot-infested rot filling the Valley of Hinnom permeated all of
Jerusalem. Hence, we heard Jesus’ reference to Gehenna as the inferno
where the where ‘their worm [the maggot] does not die, and the fire is
not quenched.’ ”
During his three
years of public ministry, Jesus taught many things and he spoke to his
disciples about many sins. But, Jesus was never this threatening―as
we heard today―when
he talked about a disciple giving scandal and, through one’s words or
actions, leading any “little one” to sin.
In this teaching,
Jesus tells his disciples that giving scandal warrants a particular
death penalty utilized by the Romans, namely, drowning. But, one’s
death sentence didn’t terminate in one’s drowning. No, at some point
after having drowned, the criminal’s body would inevitably rise to the
surface (somewhat like the Lacy Peterson case), only then be thrown into
the unquenchable fire of Gehenna. Drowning, then, wasn’t one’s wretched
end; no, burning was the end, reducing the criminal to nothingness. The
inferno permanently erased the criminal from the face of the earth; in
effect, one’s life had no meaning whatsoever and there’d be no trace
left of one’s existence.
The Valley of Hinnom
was the fate awaiting any disciple who gives scandal or, as Jesus
described this, it would be better for a disciple to go to heaven
without a hand, a foot, or an eye than to it would be for a disciple to
risk drowning, immolation, and nothingness.
While parents
oftentimes are quick to wonder about and to challenge those who teach
their children, parents aren’t so quick to wonder about and to challenge
themselves in their role as the primary teachers of their children in
the matters of faith and morals. Parents oftentimes are quick to
scrutinize and question a teacher’s approach or methods, but aren’t as
quick to scrutinize and question their approach or methods in raising
their children in the matters of faith and morality.
Jesus’ teaching in
today’s gospel challenges parents to think about how they might give
scandal and how they might cause their “little ones” to sin, never once
giving any thought to the fate Jesus described awaiting those disciples
who happen to be parents.
Today’s Epistle
provides all of us―and,
early in this new school year, parents, in particular―some
helpful images to spur a little examination of conscience.
“Your wealth has
rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten, your gold and silver
have corroded…,” St. James wrote to the Christian community in
Jerusalem.
Consider for a
moment everything you have―not
everything you want―and
note that St. James isn’t condemning having wealth and clothes but the
fact that these material possessions corrode and decay. When we place
more value in acquiring possessions than we do in acquiring holiness, we
corrode and decay as our possessions devour our flesh, as St. James
says, “like a fire” which leaves nothing but ashes behind. Undoubtedly,
the images of Gehenna and the Valley of Hinnom weren’t far from the mind
of St. James or those early Christians who lived in Jerusalem. And,
these images shouldn’t be far from our minds as well.
But, what is the
scandal here? And how do parents as “bad teachers” promote scandal that
causes “little ones” to sin?
It happens in not
too subtle ways.
Think about all of
the things we’ve really wanted and sometimes actually believed we
couldn’t live without. Remember, as kids, how we begged, cried,
cajoled, pitched a hissy fit, or perhaps even stole to get what we
wanted? But, we got it and we enjoyed it. That is, until the next
thing came along. Once again, we begged, cried, cajoled, pitched a
hissy fit, or perhaps even stole to get what we wanted so badly. We got
it and we enjoyed it. And, this spiral of desire began to take
root in our souls.
Here’s where scandal
slowly began to enter the picture.
Armed with our new
“toy,” the old “toy” no longer gave us the pleasure we once
experienced. We cast it aside or we put it where we no longer could see
it, perhaps in a box in the closet or in a secluded and dark corner of
the attic or basement.
Then, we amassed
more and more toys until our closets, attics, or basements were teeming
over with the cornucopia of unbridled avarice that no longer provided
any pleasure. We had acquired so many toys that we decided to host a
garage sale or yard sale in the hope that we could make money from the
sale of our junk and, then, could buy the new toys our hearts desired.
But, we never gave
one thought to the providing for the needs of the poor and the
destitute. Or, we gave our leftover junk to the Salvation Army or
Catholic Charities and claimed an income tax deduction for our “heroic”
generosity. Or, too busy to host that garage sale or yard sale or to
give our junk to the Salvation Army or Catholic Charities, we bagged it
all up in heavy duty, forty gallon, plastic trash bags for Mascaro’s to
haul away to the trash incinerator in Norristown.
So, here’s the
scandal these bad teachers are giving to the “little ones”: instead of
teaching their children about their absolute obligation to provide for
the needs of the poor and the destitute, these parents have taught their
“little ones” instead how to use charity to benefit themselves. Instead
of teaching their children how to give of their time and to give
selflessly of the first fruits―the
best―of
their labors, these bad teachers have taught their “little ones” to give
the poor and destitute what they’d otherwise cast away. Instead of
touching the poor and destitute, these bad teachers have taught their
children to keep the poor and destitute at arm’s length by giving of
their largesse not anything that causes pain. And, worse yet, these bad
teachers have taught their children this is what the holiness of Jesus’
disciples consists in.
That’s the scandal!
To all of this, St.
James says: “You have lived on earth in luxury and pleasure; you have
fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter.”
Now, to this point,
we’ve only considered our material possessions. What about our
religious behavior?
How often do parents
find themselves teaching their children that holiness consists of
certain religious behaviors which the parents fail to exhibit in their
own lives? It’s real easy to give lip service to daily prayer, isn’t
it? But, how often do parents actually lead their children in prayer in
the morning? at the dinner table? before going to bed each night?
That’s to say nothing about reading the scripture with their children.
Forget about that. How often do parents read scripture for
themselves and make reference to God’s word in the decisions they make
so, as the primary teachers of their children in the matters of faith
and morals, parents model to their children the importance of God’s word
in their daily lives?
Material possessions
and religious behaviors can give scandal. But, what about our religious
attitudes?
How many of parents
pay lip service to fulfilling their Sunday obligation as Catholics but
don’t participate in the Mass, read the bulletin during the homily, or
don’t become engaged in any way whatsoever in the Mass? How many of
parents believe that it’s up to the teachers in Catholic schools or CCD
programs to provide instruction in faith and morals yet haven’t
themselves engaged in any religious education since graduating from
Catholic school or CCD? Or, when confronted with a difficulty with a
child, how many of parents think first about paying a psychologist for a
professional opinion than consulting the pastor for a spiritual opinion?
As Jesus’ disciples,
the scandal is not the hypocrisy evident in the disjoint between pious
words and the lack of piety in one’s actions. No, as bad as that is,
the true scandal is how parents teach their children that prayer,
scripture, religious practices, and religious attitudes aren’t important
and have no relevance to daily life as we really live it at home. And
this scandal becomes apparent as parents lead their children, the
“little ones,” down the pathway that renders holiness of life irrelevant
to how Jesus’ disciples live each day of their lives.
“Whoever causes one
of these little ones who believe in me to sin,” Jesus says, “it would be
better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were
thrown into the sea.”
I don’t know about
you, but I find this to be a very difficult teaching. It’s
difficult not only for parents in their role as the primary teachers of
their children in matters of faith and moral but also for each and every
one of us in our role as baptized disciples. This teaching cuts
straight to the core―through
all of our rationalizations―and
puts each of us on notice not only about what discipleship requires of
us as teachers of the faith and morals but also alerts us to the fate
awaiting us when we do not teach as Jesus did.
Some pretty tough
stuff, no?
The good news is
that the awareness of how we cause scandal—made evident to us through a
careful examination of conscience rooted in Jesus’ teaching—provides the
opportunity to become more single-minded and tireless in our efforts to
teach as Jesus did. Awareness that we have fallen short of our
responsibilities and obligations as disciples is not something to fear
nor is it something that we need be ashamed of. No, the awareness
of our failures is be a moment of grace through we can turn to God and
ask Him to forgive us and to strengthen us not only to practice what we
preach but also that we do not lead others astray or place obstacles in
their way, especially those “little ones” God has entrusted to our
ministry as teachers of the faith and morality. |