Remembering we’re not alone in temptations
Genesis 2:15-17
The LORD God then took the man and
settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it. The LORD God
gave man this order: “You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden
except the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are
surely doomed to die.”
For 3 years I taught Latin at St.
Joseph Catholic School in Fayetteville, and I loved every minute of it! In fact teaching was my back-up plan in
seminary, in case this priesthood gig didn’t work out. My Plan B was to become a college philosophy
professor, marry a good Catholic girl and have 20 kids. Unfortunately Michelle Dugger was Baptist, so
my priestly vocation was pretty safe! As
a teacher, I loved to give popquizzes, but my students hated it. I tried to comfort them by explaining: do you
know who is really being tested every time a student takes a test? It’s not only the student; it’s also the
teacher. I don’t give a test just to see
all of you fail, because that means I’ve also failed as a teacher. A great teacher is best measured by the
greatness of his or her students. You
see, every test is take by the student AND the teacher.
In the
first reading from Genesis we hear about the very first test that human
students ever had to take. (Remember the
angels had already been tested.) Genesis
says, “The Lord God gave man this order (really this test): ‘You are free to eat
from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil. From that tree you shall not
eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die.” Adam and Eve probably saw that test like my
Latin students saw my popquizzes, thinking: “That’s easy for him to say, he’s
the teacher! He’s not the one being
tested and tempted!” But good teachers
care about test results as much as students.
And the best teachers care about test results even more than their
students. And to show that every test is
taken by two, God sent his Son to take the same test as Adam and Eve, and to
die on the Cross – the true tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Every test is taken by two.
You know, being a teacher has
taught me that in all my tests and temptations, I am not alone. Oh, I’m not talking about taking the SAT or
the GRE, but rather all the daily popquizzes that we face constantly: when our
trust is tested hearing a loved one has cancer; when our patience is tested
when someone cuts us off in traffic; when our joy is tested dealing with depression
or dementia; when our faith is tested seeing scandals and sins in the
Church. When you take all these tests,
know that you are not alone. The divine
Teacher is also being tested, and he wants you to pass this test even more than
you do, so he’ll give you all the grace you need to succeed. If you don’t believe me, just look at the
Cross. Every great teacher is measured
by the greatness of his students.
Praised be
Jesus Christ!
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