When I was in school, my favorite teacher was Mr. Rademacher.
He was our English teacher, and everybody's friend. He brought candy to class. He had a record player and all of the latest music. It was not difficult to get an A.
My least favorite, at the time, was Mr. Gagnon. He taught us Art. He was demanding, exacting, he pushed our limits, and made it really difficult to get a good grade.
However, looking back, I learned much more in Art than I did in English. It was the relentless pushing, the regular raising of the bar, the high expectation that Mr. Gagnon had for us that forced us to perform better than we did in English class.
And as I look back, I'm thankful for Mr. Rademacher and the fun he made our everyday learning. But I'm deeply appreciative of Mr. Gagnon because of his relentless drive to make us the best we could be.
In Sunday's gospel, we hear some very harsh words from Jesus. He takes on four subjects, murder, adultery, divorce, and the swearing of oaths. First he gives us the letter of the law. Then he raises the bar and gives us the spirit of the law. Here he offers a much more comprehensive and difficult understanding of what it means to live holy, dedicated, and devoted lives to God.
Why does he do this?
Because Jesus understands that the more we grow in devotion to God the happier we'll be. He knows that the more deeply we live in God the more generous, kind, forgiving, encouraging, hopeful, and peaceful we can become, which is not only good for us, but good for the world.
Jesus knows that in raising the bar, making us stretch, and lifting up our expectations, that very often, we can meet those seemingly unreachable goals.
And so we ask: who is pushing us?
In what ways are we seeing that the bar is set higher so that we can meet our potential?
Sometimes the biggest favor our teachers can do is push us.
Sometimes the biggest favor our teachers can do is push us.
Sometimes the biggest favor God can do is push us.
May Our Lord give us grace to make the right choices, which may take us on more difficult paths, but ultimately do us, and the world, the most good.
