Psalm Reflection: The Third Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle B

“Teach me your ways, O Lord.” - Psalms 25

I had both the best and worst teachers of my life at the same exact time. 

I studied music composition in college with the desire to become a composer for TV and film. I began my studies at the community college level with incredibly talented and kind professors who first inspired me to pursue music professionally. 

When I transferred to a university to complete my degree, I began a more focused concentration on composition and performance. This included weekly private lessons with the composition professor, who was one of the most unpleasant people I have ever known in my life.

My lessons consisted of him actively changing what I wrote to things that  sounded more like his work, and even tearing apart my manuscripts in front of me and throwing them into the trash to encourage me to “start fresh.” I am not a violent or angry person, but I had to restrain myself on more than one occasion from retaliating in some way. It was awful.

This professor was only interested in making carbon copies of himself and trying to force his students to see things only as he saw them. He would make inappropriate or demeaning comments to certain students in class to try and assert his authority. He was the best example of someone I never wanted to be like.

As a result, several composition students left the program. I was also on the verge of dropping my major until another professor who I deeply respected and admired suggested that I take on a second degree to study musicology with him. It was a degree only one other student had ever received in the university’s history, and it required a lot of research and writing, but I was looking for a lifeline so I took it. 

My musicology professor was a devout Catholic who taught his classes at the level of graduate seminars, but he did so with the utmost respect for the subject while also being kind and encouraging toward his students. He inspired me to trust my musical instincts and to research, write, and compose what I was passionate about. His encouragement was what I needed to go on to finish both degrees and retain my sanity in the process.

My passion for research and writing has continued, but, as much as I loved writing music, I have not composed a single piece of music since I graduated over a decade ago.

Jesus is the best teacher that ever lived because He was not only a teacher, He is the son of God who became man to save us from sin and death. He is compelling, loving and someone worth following. He accepts us where we are, while also calling us to be better.

Good teachers produce good students who learn and emulate their good qualities.

Bad teachers inhibit the ability for their students to learn and grow due to  their own egos.

Jesus is a good teacher.

Being a disciple is like being a student of a teacher, or an apprentice who studies under a master. Apprentices often spend many years working, studying, and even living with their masters in order to best observe, learn, and emulate what they do. In the same way, a person cannot be a real disciple of Jesus unless they spend time with Him, try to become like Him, and learn to do what He did.

This Sunday, when we pray the words of the Psalmist and say, “teach me your ways, O Lord,” we are expressing our desire to be disciples. We are telling Jesus that we want to be with Him, become like Him, and do what He did.

We do not become disciples simply because we received the Sacraments or by going to Mass every week. Going through the motions will do nothing more than build habits that eventually become stale and monotonous, unless they flow out of a joyful, vibrant relationship with the living and true God. 

In what ways do you need the Lord to teach you? 

Where are you being invited to grow in your relationship with God and your knowledge of His teachings?

How can you spend more time with Him?

How can you become more like Him?

What would it look like if you were able to do what Jesus did? 

Good teachers produce good fruit.

Bad teachers produce bad fruit.

The more time you spend with the good teacher, the more you will become like Him. The more time you spend being taught by the world, the more you will get caught up in the worries and concerns of the world and the miserable you will be as a result. Trust me. 

Stick with the good teacher, and He will teach you to become like Him and how to not fall prey to the destructive lessons of the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Be with Jesus.

Become like Jesus.

Do what Jesus did.

I am praying for you, please pray for me, and I will see you in the Eucharist.

Matt 

This reflection is based on the Responsorial Psalm for this Sunday, January 21st, 2024, which is The Third Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle B: Psalms 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9.