When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them.   

Many people criticize the training methods of American armed services' training camps because the teachers are too insensitive and do not take into consideration the dignity of the human person. Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Ben Randall in the movie "The Guardian" would not accept such a criticism. He simply did not want men to die during a rescue. When he was given a chance to teach others, he used his own training methods that put new recruits through the toughest of testing. His thought was to prepare them for any situation that they would encounter during a mission. When he taught, he was aware of his own personal problems, which may have been the reason why he was so harsh. One student in particular, Jake Fisher, a gifted man in many ways, who also had personal problems, soon learned that Ben Randall would not only teach him to be a good rescue swimmer but that he would be someone who could guide him through the problems he had.    

Jesus was a teacher. He was not a teacher in the sense of teaching in a training camp, but it was a training of sorts--a training in how to live in a spiritual way in this world of ours. His apostle Paul later on spoke of such a training: "Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win. Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing. No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified" (1 Corinthians 9: 24-27). Paul the apostle had learned from his Lord and knew the value of training when it came to the spiritual life.

Training or discipline is a necessary part of learning a difficult task. Whether the task involves being a good athlete or a rescue swimmer or a spiritual leader, training is a key. Training not only involves book learning, although it is necessary to have a certain grasp of what to do. It involves most of all what might be called "molding" as clay is molded into some shape. It means activity, schooling our bodies into the proper attitude to learn the task. Only after we have molded ourselves into such an attitude can we reach the goal.

The spiritual life is not an athletic sport nor is it a means to save a person in dire physical straits like being a rescue swimmer. It is a way of life that will lead to a true understanding of the words of Jesus Christ. Such an understanding will not come from a simple reading of the Bible or some spiritual book. It will come only with training, disciplining ourselves into recognizing the absolute need that we have for what Jesus taught. It means reading what Jesus said, studying why he did the things that he did, and forcing ourselves to imitate the virtues he taught. We will be able to understand him only when we have trained ourselves to accept his thought. Such is the task of a person who truly desires a spiritual life.            

THOUGHT
 
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, your Son was the perfect teacher. He gave us what we need in order to live well here and be happy with you at the end of our lives. But we must train ourselves to learn from him. Give us the grace to mold ourselves into being a true student of his. Be with us, we pray. 

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©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America