by Elizabeth Solsburg

This year, the St. Augustine Catholic is exploring Christology - the study of Jesus Christ. We asked several eminent seminary professors some questions about Jesus. Their answers are enlightening and thought-provoking. 



SAC: What is Jesus’ role as teacher?

Father Acklin: Jesus teaches even more by what he does than what he says. It’s like the famous quote attributed to St. Francis: “Preach always - use words when necessary.” Jesus’ whole ministry is like this; he begins with teaching and miracles. Then, he begins to teach the hard stuff, about giving us his flesh and blood to eat and drink - and there are very few miracles at that point, because miracles are signs pointing toward something, not an end in themselves. Jesus teaches with parables to break through the resistance to understanding, to prepare us to enter into the mystery. Otherwise, you could take this body of knowledge away and think you’ve “got it.” For example, the beatitudes - living them is a mystery; it’s not just about knowing them.

We have teaching in the Scriptures and in other church teaching, like the catechism. But to live through the questions is where you really learn to know something. The Apostles fumbled and ran away, and learned through that. Ultimately, we slip and fall and miss the point, and that is where the opportunity for real learning occurs.

For us to really know Jesus, all of his sayings have to become living for us. That happens through faith. And we have to recognize that everything Jesus taught was accompanied by things he did.

Father Muller: Jesus’ teaching is connected with the Word - Jesus is the revelation of God. Revelation must touch on the human heart and the human intellect. When you talk about the communication of God to our intellect, you’re talking about a student-teacher relationship between us and God. So Christ, as a revelation of the Father, comes as one who enlightens our intellect. That is the root of what is meant by teacher.

There were also cultural issues in the Scriptures that led to the use of that title - in the first-century Jewish culture, those who gathered disciples and trained them were called “teacher” or “rabbi.” Since Jesus did those things, he was often called by those titles.

Father Stevens: Everything Jesus does is a teaching moment. When does he teach the most? It is when he says nothing - it is in his passion. In that moment, we have the sublime teaching of what it means to be human and God. So, how do we propagate this - how do we teach? We use a combination of words, actions and silence. If Jesus teaches by silence, we should too. For example, don’t judge. Don’t cast a stone. Ultimate teaching is through silence. And teaching is always more than a matter of utterances. Look at Matthew, chapter 25 - we teach by visiting someone, by giving them water and clothing. This teaching is the way in which the truth of God reaches another human being.