Every day of Lent, Bishop Edward Malesic writes a Scripture reflection for the faithful. Follow the bishop on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Click HERE for the readings.
Jesus was very critical of the scribes and Pharisees, although he understood that they were authorized teachers. He even told his listeners, “Do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you.” But many of the Pharisees didn’t practice what they taught. Jesus would say about them to his listeners, “Do not follow their example.”
In the Church, we must be obedient to the teaching of those authorized to teach us. But we all know that not every teacher lives their own teaching. I think of an example of a doctor who tells a patient to quit smoking before going outside for a cigarette break himself. Or a priest who everyone knows to be a good preacher, but is later caught up in a grave scandal.
And as adults, we are all called to pass on the faith to our children. Do we speak great words about Jesus and then live as though he never existed?
Pope St. Paul VI famously said in his 1975 apostolic exhortation on evangelization, “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.”
We should not only know our catechism, but also live it – as humble servants of Jesus the teacher who not only spoke quotable words in his eloquent preaching, but also gave witness to God’s love by his very life. His is the example for all of us to follow.