Alliance for Catholic Education
Happy Easter, everyone!
A few weeks ago at Mass, my housemates and I and many of you heard the Gospel story of the Prodigal Son, which in my opinion is one of the most beautifully poignant parables in the entire Good Book. It gives us a perfect model of how Christ loves us each perfectly, completely, and unconditionally, regardless of how many times we fail or sin or prove ourselves unworthy of His merciful love. We then, through this parable, are called to love like the father — especially to love those who at times can be difficult to love through distance or disagreement. I want to reflect about what this parable means for teachers.
I say that the story of the prodigal son is “poignant” because, for me, it is a stark reminder of how I am consistently missing the mark of practicing the unconditional love shown by the father. At school, this can look like “giving up” on a student who refuses to engage in class or gatekeeping mercy and forgiveness when a student is defiant, disruptive, or challenging. I do believe there is a time and a place for “tough love,” but love is a vital part of the equation (or expression, I suppose is more mathematically correct here). For a student who is falling behind or perhaps lost entirely like the younger son, they will only return home to attempt an academic comeback (as the kids are calling it these days) if there is a loving, patient teacher who has never left them behind.
Now, this all sounds very idealistic and perhaps even impractical. How can we as teachers pour out a constant stream of love and forgiveness at a disproportionate rate to which we receive it? We need an ideal or a model to add color to this mighty task. Here’s a quote that helped me put some perspective to the ideals of love, patience, and forgiveness. In his book A Swim in the Pond in the Rain, George Saunders describes the genius of Chekov’s writing in his short story The Darling as his ability to aid the reader in coming to know the protagonist Olenka so, so well. Saunders writes,
“I feel about Olenka the way I think God might. I know so much about her. Nothing has been hidden from me. It’s rare, in the real world, that I get to know someone so completely. I’ve known her in so many modes, … And look at that: the more I know about her, the less inclined I feel to pass a too-harsh or premature judgement. Some essential mercy in me has been switched on. What God has going for Him that we don’t is infinite information. Maybe that’s why He’s able to love us so much”
We cannot love God or one another as much as He loves us. But, in the incarnation of his son Jesus and the Word of Holy Scripture, we have the perfect example of how we ought to try. Just as Jesus took time to get to know his disciples, Zaccheus, the woman at the well, and so many others, the more we seek to know and understand a person, the easier it will be for some “essential mercy” to take over in difficult moments. Another reason why “build relationships with your students” seems to be the antidote of choice for many a pedagogical problem.
We encounter the ultimate example of unconditional love in a special way during the Holy Season of Easter. God, who so loved the world, gave his only begotten son to die on the cross for our sin. This intensity of love for humankind is so unfathomable that all we can do is try to live in a state of gratitude and thanksgiving. Through liturgical participation during Holy Week and Easter Sunday, we practice this gratitude as we encounter Christ in Word and Sacrament. We can feel a barrage of unexplainable emotion as we recount His passion, death and resurrection. We also find ourselves amidst a challenging time of reflection and reconciliation. What changes can we make in our lives to be better amplifiers and recipients of God’s love?
May this Easter season be one of renewal, thanksgiving, and love for all.