"On the third day they found him in the Temple, sitting with the Jewish teachers, listening to them and asking questions. All who heard him were amazed at his intelligent answers." (Luke 2:46-47)
This is September, and it is the start of another school year in Cameroon and in many countries of the world. The teachers are preparing to give their best, the students are excited to learn something new, and parents are making huge sacrifices in expectation of amazing results at the end. This post invites you to follow the example of the infant Jesus to be the amazing student and teacher you can be. "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free" (John 8 :32)
SCHOOLING
No one knows all, and no one, except God, is infalliblel. The omniscient God, incarnate in Jesus Christ, so humbled himself to and to ask questions to the Jewish teachers of the Law - in order to give them his amazing answers or teachings of the truth - so who are we to claim the fullness or monopoly of knowledge or the gift of infallibility? The example of Jesus makes us to be aware that everyone - whether parent, student or teacher - is lack of knowledge; and therefore, is subject to schooling.
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THE AMAZING STUDENT AND TEACHER |
LISTENING
For anyone to be both an amazing student and teacher, as Jesus Christ was, they need to apply the essential tools of attentive listening and of positive questioning. This is the way to penetrate the deepest depths of knowledge - both the knowledge of man and that of God. Listening is attentive when it is not distracted by side comment, noise and impatience, or distorted by pride, bias, and self-interest.
QUESTIONING
The phrase which reads:"On the third day they found him sitting in the Temple" (Luke 2:46), is symbolic of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The first day was Good Friday, when he suffered and died on the Cross. This corresponds to the virtues of obedience and submission - even to those who may be inferior to us in one way or another. The second day was holy Saturday when the body of Christ was lying in the tomb. This corresponds to the virtues of humility and of detachment from oneself. The third day was Easter Sunday when he rose from the dead. This corresponds to enlightenment, rebirth and uplift.
So your submission and humility will enable you to engage with others in positive questioning, in order to be enlightened, reborn and uplifted. The act of positive questioning is that of asking sincerely, and in order to know - and not to challenge, hurt or mock at others.
LEARNING
Thus in the course of life everyone is learning and teaching at the same time. For what you know, another person does not know - and what you do not know another person can teach you. That is why the students and teachers learn from one another; teachers learn from their colleagues and students learn from their mates - just in the same way that parents learn from parents and neighbors learn from neighbors. And, even, the parents and their kids learn from one another - all that is good and imitable.
So as the new school year begins let us all - at school, work, home, church, neighborhood - integrate the learning and teaching system with the relevant tools - listening and questioning - so as to become amazing students and teachers our communities, countries and the world need to move forward.
TEACHING
Teaching is the process of imparting or of inspiring knowledge in someone else. One cannot teach what or whom one does not know. So to teach by impartation you have to know what to teach, and to know what to teach, you have to learn it - by listening and asking questions. Also, to teach by inspiration, you have to know the one whom you teach. For the teacher cannot inspire the student without knowing the person within - how they think, what they know, and what they do not know. And you you can only know their inner person by listening to your student and asking questions.
ANSWERING
The results of learning - by listening and asking questions - are perceived not only in the classrooms, but also in the family, professional, business and social circles. Thus in marriage and other family relationships, private and public meetings and seminars (both real and virtual) and in social media forums - those who listen, question and learn (reflect) before speaking (reacting), are most often amazing in what they say or do not say (silence is also an answer). They do not go on posting and deleting or talking and, then, apologizing as the "deaf" and "unlearned" do during real meetings or interactions in social media forums today - when they realize or are told that what they spoke or posted was rubbish.
AMAZING
So let us have the attitude of Christ - to listen, ask and know - before we teach, speak, act or react. This is the only way that we may become the amazing students, teachers, parents, husbands, wives, children, neighbors, workers worker mates, employers, leaders and Christians that we can be.
The secret is that, as Christians, we need to listen to God (and to others...) and ask questions, so as to learn how to accomplish and to live the amazing life, that we are promised, and called to live - in God's plan. As the scripture says: "I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for. Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to me, and I will answer you. You will seek me, and you will find me because you will seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:11-13)
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