Learning Jesus Christ
December 23, 2022 - Friday, 4th Week of Advent
Psalm 25:4-5ab, 8-9, 10 and 14
In one of the Catholic schools in a certain city in Asia, a flag-raising ceremony and singing of the national anthem were followed by praying “Our Father”. Education is important, but the question is: what kind of education?
The psalmist asks God to teach him God’s ways, God’s paths, and God’s truth. And what are these? These are not abstract ideas. They are embodied in Jesus Christ. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life”(John 14:6). Saint Paul wrote that the only thing he wanted in life was to know Jesus Christ, other things did not matter to him (see Phil 3:8-11). But how to know Christ? Again, it is not abstract knowledge. We cannot learn it from books or in schools. So, where can we learn it?
We get to know Christ in the Church. We begin our journey of getting to know Christ at the moment of our baptism. We are surrounded by others who instruct us in faith. We participate in the liturgy, we get to know the Scriptures, and we learn how to pray and how to live as Christians by being inspired by the examples of others. But that is just the beginning.
Our intimate knowledge of Christ increases as we began to follow Him. But, how can we follow him if we cannot see Him? We need role models who translate the Gospel of Christ into a living language that we can understand. We need spiritual guides who can lead us into a deeper knowledge of Christ. Saint Paul wrote to the Corinthians, who like us could not see Christ, but could see Paul: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Cor 11:1). There are true followers of Christ also among us. Look for them. As the famous saying goes: ‘Whenever the disciple is ready, the master appears’.
“Good and upright is the LORD; thus he shows sinners the way” (Ps 25:8), the psalmist tells us. Jesus’ association with sinners earned him a bad reputation in the religious circle of his time. “Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!” (Matt 11:19). By association with sinners, Jesus showed them the way out of sin. But what happens if we do not consider ourselves sinners? What happens when we do not want to learn God’s way? What happens when we are not teachable anymore? Pride goes before the fall. God can only reveal his instruction to those who fear him, who approach him with reverence and respect.
The fragment of Psalm 25 that we hear today is sandwiched between the prophecy of Malachi about God’s messenger and the narration of incredible events that surrounded the birth of John the Baptist. The New Testament saw the fulfilment of the prophecy of Malachi in John. But before John could become God’s messenger, he had to be educated in God’s ways, paths, and truth. It took place among his righteous parents and then in the wilderness among other pious Jewish brothers.