All of us must be both teachers and students when it comes to sharing the Gospel message. We teach others through our examples of word and deed, living as committed Christians. However, we are still students, learning with the help of the Holy Spirit, what it means to live for Jesus. Every time we attend Mass, we learn through the Scriptures what it means to be a faithful Christian. In our early years, we learn our faith from our parents and from teachers in catechetical programs. As we grow older, we learn from the lessons of the Scriptures, our own life experiences, and, perhaps, Christian literature that leads us to a deeper life in Christ. We should be learners and teachers of Jesus’ Good News until we draw our last breath. We should never stop learning.
If we are going to be effective teachers, especially to the youth, we must let our words and deeds become an example for others to follow. The challenge of being called today to be students of Jesus and to be teachers of his Good News is the same as when the apostles were first called. We have to keep reminding ourselves of the original purpose of our calling. We have to keep going back to the message of Jesus in the Gospel in order to deepen the call of God for each of us. We should never think that we are insignificant in God’s plan. We are part of the history that Jesus himself is shaping and he wants us to be a part of that history as living witnesses to faith.
