Summer School

Learning how to become life-long learners

01/29/2022

Mk 4:35-41 On that day, as evening drew on, Jesus said to his disciples: “Let us cross to the other side.” Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!” The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” They were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”

One thing we emphasize in Catholic schools is becoming a “life-long learner.” That is, to recognize that once you graduate from school your schooling does not come to an end, but rather, in many ways your education is only just beginning. That is why graduating from college is called “commencement” – you are commencing your real education. In school we are only learning how to learn, and then after graduation we put that learning to practice and learn for the rest of our life what life is really all about. True learning happens after you finish school.

Several years ago I visited Archbishop J. Peter Sartain, our former bishop, in Seattle. He gave me a tour of his impressive Victorian rectory and then showed me his living room. The most impressive part of that entire ornate house for me was his coffee table, because on it were 15 to 20 books, all open, some dog-eared, others underlined, but all freshly touched and pages turned. That scene surprised me because I assumed that once you become a bishop, let alone an archbishop, you know everything. But I was wrong. Archbishop Sartain is a splendid example of being a life-long learner. And he taught me that real learning happens after you finish school.

In the gospel today we see a moment of great learning for the apostles. They are in a boat when a squall stirs up that threatens to sink their ship. Meanwhile, Jesus is asleep. They wake him to their peril and he calms the winds and seas. But Jesus not only rebuked the seas, he also reprimanded his disciples, asking: “Do you not yet have faith?” In believe the apostles’ growth in faith would continue, not just that day but for their whole life. Long after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, and even after Pentecost, which can surely be seen as the apostles’ “graduation” from seminary.

But as Archbishop Sartain gently taught me: true learning happens after you finish school. Even after getting their diplomas, the apostles still had a lot to learn, to be guided by the Holy Spirit and grow in their faith. In Acts 15, they would meet together in the Council of Jerusalem and learn that circumcision was no longer necessary. Through the letters of St. Paul, they would learn how to welcome the Gentiles (non-Jews) into the Church.

And on and on their life-long journey of learning would continue until they learned how to die for their faith. All but John would die a martyr. In other words, death would be the last lesson of life. In a sense, the apostles would always be asking the question which they uttered in Mark 4 today: “Who then is this whom even the wind and sea obey?” And they would only hear the final and full answer in heaven, when their life-long learning would be complete, and not a second sooner.

My friends, have you developed the habits of a life-long learner, especially regarding our precious Catholic faith? It is amazing how much time we spend studying other things but not the faith. Some people think since they attended Catholic schools they can check the box and feel they have learned everything about Catholicism. If you think that, please go and pay a visit to Archbishop Sartain and you will see how he still studies the faith assiduously. If an archbishop needs to learn more about the faith, maybe you do too.

While I was leaving Trinity last Wednesday, I ran into a group of moms all excited to start their new Bible series on the book of Deuteronomy. Terra Harmon, their fearless leader, told me they use a study called “Proverbs 31,” that magnificent chapter about the “ideal wife.” I couldn’t help but notice the beautiful juxtaposition that morning. On one side of the building were Trinity students learning how to learn; on the other side were moms who were putting that learning into practice. They knew that real learning happens after you finish school. On both side of that building everyone was asking like the apostles today: “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?” We are always learning more about our Lord.

By the way, I may have misspoken earlier when I said that death was the last lesson of life. Just like some students play hooky or don’t study or misbehave and have to stay after graduation for summer school, so many of us who did not learn life’s lessons will have to stay after death in a place called “purgatory.” Purgatory will be the remedial education for all those lessons we failed to learn in life. While everyone else is having fun on vacation in heaven, you may be stuck in summer school. That is why it is far better to be a life-long learner.

Praised be Jesus Christ!