I love my job... I really do. There is just something about standing in front of a classroom full of young minds and attempting (sometimes more successfully than others) to educate. When I look out on those face I see the future and I can't help but feel that in some way... what I am doing MATTERS. And that can be an extremely wonderful and TERRIFYING feeling at the same time.
It is so hard to be an excellent teacher. A master teacher not only cares about how he/she teaches, manages, grades, etc.... a mater teacher questions WHAT they teach. Teaching is just not about having students copy down 20 vocabulary words about the Middle Ages; everything I teach says something about my beliefs, my ideology and my philosophy of life (theology as well?).
A few weeks ago I was teaching a World History lesson on the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages. Even though I do not consider myself a member of the Roman Catholic denomination I can't help, but read about those troubled times and think about them as my history as well. The world "Catholic" means united and refers more to the Church than a specific denomination. I feel as though the Church in the Middle Ages, albeit flawed, sits as a part of my religious family tree. Their story is my story.
The predominant thought in the Church of the Middle Ages was that the world is pretty messed up, and honestly it's probably not going to get any better. They certainly had some good examples to point to. There were wars, corrupt leadership and a huge gap between the rich and the poor (sound familiar?). Theology was a mix of St. Augustine and the pre-Christian Greek philosopher Plato who both claimed that this world would never attain anything near the perfection of the model on which it is based. The best we can hope for in this world, is that someday we get to leave it.
It was in this climate where a young man named Francis grew up. Francis was born into wealth which he used to get about anything he wanted (wine, women, etc). However, he never could get over the extreme poverty he saw around him. He learned at a young age that the world was a messed up place and eventually he decided he wanted no part of it. He started giving away everything he owned right down to his fancy wardrobe. His Priest thought that he was a perfect candidate to be a monk, because then he could get out of the temptations of the city and spend time in quiet reflection. His dad thought Francis was crazy for not wanting to pursue a life of wealth.
Francis was caught in between two extremes: his dad's life of worldly wealth and the life of a religion separate from society. But Francis chose a third way... in my opinion he chose the way of Jesus. Instead of getting away from society to be with Jesus, he brought Jesus to those who needed it the most. He was an advocate for the poor, the widows and the distressed. He spend his time hanging out with lepers and taking care of the environment. And in an age that said this world had absolutely nothing good in it, he showed that God was not limited by a religious timeline that had Him coming back in some sort of "end times". God was THERE... RIGHT THEN... and He was waiting for people to be His hands and feet.
In a time of our spiritual heritage that many would rather forget, Francis was one man who got it.
And I think (at least for one day) my students got it too. As we talked what emerged was a vision for a world where there was no difference between our church life and the rest of our lives; no difference between the secular and the sacred.
And THAT is why I love this job.
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