Holding The Tension Between Learning And Teaching

​Jesus has called us all to love God, love others, and serve both. We do this together, ministering to one another; praying for each other; and caring for one another in his name.

If you have been paying attention you might have noticed there’s a lot of panic in the air around our country. No, I’m not talking about the upcoming election. I'm talking about the millions of high school seniors who, like my son, are stressed out about getting into college.
 
Back when I finished high school, the last thing I wanted to do was spend four more years in a classroom. Seven years later, when I finally graduated with my B.A., I swore that was it. No more school.

​But, as Rob Bell likes to say, “God gets what God wants.” Next thing I know, I’m enrolled in seminary…and now here we are.

​​I have come to realize, life itself is one great classroom. No matter how many degrees you have (or don’t have), we’re all students, always learning.

Yet, for those of us who follow Jesus, we are called to be more. Not only do we learn how to navigate the world following his teachings, but we are also sent out to the same world to share what we have learned.
 
We constantly find ourselves holding the tension in that space between student and teacher. Although most of the time we might not have a clue of what we’re doing, I believe we can stand confidently in this space knowing what we know about Christ as he’s revealed to us in our reading today.

Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. 
​                 ​                 ​                 ​                 ​                 ​                 ​                 Hebrews 4:14-16

​When I accepted my call to ministry, I reached out to my childhood pastor, Bob Walkup. I confessed to him that I had no idea what I was getting into. In his calm way, Bob said something that’s always stuck with me. He said, “Ian, you’ve always been a minister. You just didn’t realize it.”
 
Last week, we sat around after the camera was off and we talked about the ways we live Jesus out in the world. Most of our answers were similar, being present and showing compassion. Taking what Jesus has taught us and living it out in real time, in real ways.
 
Although today’s reading talks about Christ as our High Priest, it also reminds us, his followers, that we too are ministers. While this might not be the word you use to describe yourself at parties, it does speak to what Bob told me. And maybe you haven’t realized it yet.
 
I get if you’re skeptical. There have been moments in my life where I doubted my faith, and days where question my abilities to lead a church. If I had a penny for every time I asked, “Why me, God? What do I know?” I’d probably still be asking the question, but I’d be asking it from a yacht. 
 
After years of seeing what God is capable of doing through me, I have discovered you don’t need to be straight A student or have the faith of a saint to share God’s love. You just need to have a willing heart. For it’s in our hearts where God resides.
 
The Irish mystic John Scotus Eriugena wrote, “God is in all things, as the essence of all things, for God is in our soul, and God is in our heart, and God is in our mind, and in our body.”
 
Jesus teaches us to let go of our fear and self-doubt, so we can see more clearly how God has always been a part of our story, blessing us and redeeming us, whether we know it or not.
 
For example, I used to hate this scar cancer left on me. Most people don’t notice it, but I do. It used to make me depressed and feel broken and ashamed. Then one day, I met someone going through a difficult battle with cancer. She was sitting in a chair, getting her last infusion of chemo.
 
Knowing what she was going through, I refrained from offering pastoral platitudes. Instead, I complemented the blanket wrapped around her.
 
She asked, “You know this blanket?” When I nodded yes, she asked, “And what about this bag?”
 
Then I showed her my scar. That’s all it took to begin a difficult but honest conversation. In that moment, God transformed this ugly line into a heavenly bridge between us.
 
What was once a thing of pain and shame, became a holy and sacred ministry. Now, when I see that scar, I don’t think of what caused it. But what God can do with it - for me and for those I show it to.
 
We all have our scars, our cracks and brokenness. Each one a story of God’s grace and love at work in us. It’s a story, we are called to share. Because who knows what God will awaken in someone else.
 
Nadia Bolz-Weber reminds us that, “God’s grace is not for the worthy; it’s for the messed up, the broken, the weak.” We can move with confidence not because we have it all together, but because God “sees all of us—the good, the bad, and the ugly—and calls us beloved anyway.”

Jesus was the embodiment of God’s perfect love and glory. Through His own pain and suffering, he blesses our scars and makes them divine. His entire life was a proclamation to what God is doing through people like us. And now it’s our turn to teach what we’ve learned from him.
 
Self-doubt will no doubt try to stop us. And fear will seek to sabotage your confidence. But the fact that you are here, right now, is a testimony to God’s great love for you. A story I hope you will share to teach others about the great gospel story.
 
The author of Hebrews describes Jesus as “the Great High Priest.” In religious terms, this suggests he’s the one in charge of offering gifts and sacrifices to God on our behalf for our sins. But did you know the word “priest” literally means “bridge.” Which makes Jesus the bridge between us and God.
 
More than someone who intercedes on our behalf, Jesus walks us straight to the source. He is the way we follow to learn the way back to God’s heart. And now it’s up to us to be that bridge, using our scars and stories to teach people on his behalf.
 
I might hold the title Co-Pastor of Anamesa, but Jesus has called us all to love God, love others, and serve both.We do this together, ministering to one another in his name; praying for each other in his name; and caring for one another in his name.
 
That’s our ministry. Anyone one of us is capable of doing it even if you don’t realize it.
 
I know someone who helps out his neighbor, a veteran with PTSD. He doesn’t do much more than listen to the guy and offer him a safe space to work through his issues. Although he doesn’t see it as a ministry, I can’t think of a better way to preach the compassionate heart of Christ than showing it to someone in need.
 
I’m part of the interfaith food pantry. The folks who come for groceries don’t care if we’re Jewish, Islamic, or Christian. But with every bag that is handed out, something holy happens. Hope is found. And God’s love is made manifest.
 
In the hands and hearts of our volunteers, Christ comes to life. And God’s glory is proclaimed.
Whether it’s intentional or not, the smallest acts of kindness are enough to teach someone how big and inclusive God’s love really is.
 
So here’s the thing: We are all pastors - called to bring hope into the world.

We are all ministers - called to offer God’s love and mercy to those in need.

​We are all called to be priests - bridging the space between this life and everlasting life as living testimonies to God’s great glory. 
 
Yes, sometimes this requires preaching. But most of the time it’s about being present - being the hands and heart of Christ in the world.
 
So let me leave you with this reminder…whenever there’s hunger or injustice present, or wherever people are sick, suffering, or imprisoned, or just merely stressed out over a deadline at work or getting into college, Jesus calls us to take what we’ve learned and simply be the presence of God’s love in those spaces.
 
“It is love alone that gives worth to all things,” writes St. Teresa of Ávila, “and Christ, in His infinite mercy, calls us to share in that love through our weakness. In our weakness, we meet His strength.”
 
You don’t have to be perfect or have a fancy degree. You just need a willing heart, trusting that God will do the rest. We all have something to teach, something to give. So, let’s go out into the world with intention, teaching Christ’s love by being his love in all that we do.
 
Let’s go committed to our calling as ministers, pastors, and priest — learning, teaching, and being the bridge that leads others to God’s heart. Let us go and simply be the gospel proclaiming the good news, as St. Francis of Assisi taught, “using words only when necessary.”
 
And as we do, we will stand confidently before God, who lives within us and calls us beloved.
​

Work Cited:
Excerpts from an original sermon  It's Everyone's Job (October 17,2021).
Bartlett, David L., Barbara Brown Taylor, eds. Feasting on the Word: Year B, Vol. 4. Westminster John Knox: 2009. pp. 182-186.