Our many teachers

Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni!” (which means, Teacher).

John 20:16 

Seminary students have many teachers. Although I am probably biased, the teachers at Virginia Theological Seminary are among the best. Seminary education is just one part of the training to become an Episcopal priest, another involves practical field education. All Master of Divinity students are required to spend two semesters interning at a parish. The Diocese of Virginia also requires a third semester, plus 8 weeks at a different parish during the summer. I’m grateful I’ll be spending my 8-week summer internship at St. George’s where I’ll learn from many teachers, ordained and lay! 

Of course, Jesus is our great teacher, as we hear Mary Magdalene call him in this verse from the Gospel of John describing the scene at the tomb the morning of Jesus’s resurrection.

That was Easter season, which was followed by Pentecost and now we have moved into Ordinary Time on the church calendar. This can be referred to as the “green season,” because this is a time for growth. It’s the time to live our Christian faith and the meaning of Christ’s resurrection in ordinary life, a time to grow as disciples through our words and deeds. 

As Christians, we can redefine ordinary. We can be full of love and charity, as Jesus was. We can welcome whatever makes others feel most comfortable as the pandemic boundaries shift – from masks to social distance to how we greet one another in person. We can be extraordinarily thankful for the blessings we have and the blessings we can share. 

The German Lutheran pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer told us that, “In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.”  In this Ordinary Time, we can grow rich by learning from our holy teacher, Jesus Christ, by loving, by giving and by being grateful. 

Amen and blessings,

Stacy