Young pilgrims re-enact their baptism at the site at
Qasr el-Yahud in the holy Land where Jesus was baptised in the River Jordan by John the Baptist.
Photo: CNS/Debbie Hill The Church and society often took it upon themselves to humiliate and exclude rather than show the love of Christ, writes Brian McCormick
There is very little difference between the word teacher and preacher. I would always see John the Baptist as a preacher. Jesus is frequently referred to in the Gospels as teacher.
I would suggest that a preacher who does not direct people to Jesus has the potential to be more akin to a dictator. We can see very clearly that John the Baptist was not in any way bound by the potential of losing his disciples, his followers, to Jesus. He was not empowered by his disciples; he got his reward by directing everyone to God.
I’m so aware of the connection today between preacher and teacher and the potential of dictator within these roles.
Unlike John the Baptist, we are called to be more than preachers. Because of Jesus we are also called to be teachers. Many people are already called teachers and I think it is very important to consider their role as preachers as well. However, for those of us who are not formally called teachers we also must be aware that because we have been baptised we also are teachers. We were baptised into the Body of Christ therefore we are to be the presence Christ in the world. Christ is a teacher, a teacher of the ways and desires of God. This is what Jesus spent his entire public life doing, more than preach, he taught.
Teachers
As teachers and preachers, we are all accountable to God for what we do. This brings me to the dictator, this is the dangerous area. As teachers and preachers we all have the potential to become dictators. When we become dictators we will be held accountable to God. Being a dictator has more potential for losing souls than bad preaching or teaching. I think this is true particularly within family environments. I think parents can preach to their children and they can teach their children and as long as everything points the child towards Jesus and living a Christian life then a parent has done what God has asked of them. Now you can never be finished with this role, as you have the opportunity to teach and preach right up until your very last breath. You can actually give your greatest teaching by the manner in which you approach death, how you die. Many parents’ faith in the last days and hours of their lives direct their children to Jesus.
However, the truth is that it can be very easy to move from a preacher and teacher in your home to becoming a dictator. I think becoming a dictator is when you lose sight of the fact that God is ultimately in charge. This not only applies in our homes with our families; it applies everywhere in life. It applies at work, it especially applies in politics and indeed the absence of God creates a space that can only be filled by individuals who think they are God. The report on the mother and baby homes reveals a devastation that dictatorship caused. Church, government, society and in some cases families didn’t teach and preach, they didn’t point to Jesus. They took it upon themselves to humiliate, to shame, to exclude and to create hostile and hateful environments into which children were born. There was no teaching or preaching in the name of Jesus here. This was cruel dictatorship.
We have seen the consequences of this many times in history and we continue to see this today. As a Church, government and society is vital that we don’t operate as dictators. As parents too, I think it’s really important not to slip into the dictator role. It can happen easily but it is necessary to be alert to it. It can appear easier to be a dictator because a dictator is not accountable for their own actions. A dictator does not need to explain.
As Christians we are accountable and we must explain. We cannot be teachers without explaining. What we are called to explain is that putting God in the centre of our lives is what life is about. Getting to know Jesus is what gives meaning to everything. It gives meaning to our living and dying, it gives meaning to our families, our work, our communities, our celebrations and our disappointments.
Parents
As parents it is really important to have the freedom that John the Baptist had when his disciples left him to follow Jesus. Parents also need be free to allow their children to follow the plan of life that God has for them. They need to be careful that they don’t put their own personal desires in front of what God has planned for their children. They need to be careful that they don’t move from preacher and teacher to dictator. There is no greater joy in life than to witness young people getting to live the lives God has planned for them.
Our prayer could be, ‘Lord guide us all this week as preachers and teachers. If we have become dictators help us to recognise this and to do something about it. I am yours do with me as you will’.
Brian McCormick is from Derry. He is a father and works in the construction industry. This is a reflection written on the mother and baby homes in the context of last Sunday’s Gospel (John 1:35-42).