Those Who Teach

Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom: Enlighten by your Holy Spirit those who teach and those who learn, that, rejoicing in the knowledge of your truth, they may worship you and serve you from generation to generation; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen.

- The Book of Common Prayer                                

Those who teach and those who learn.

What they do is a blessing and a gift.   Teaching through love, kindness, and understanding, is so much more effective than teaching through fear, hate, and intimidation.  And most of our teachers understand that.  Knowledge and truth are spread quicker and surer when there is empathy and caring. 

Teaching the Gospel message rings truer when done through the filter of loving one's neighbor.  The same is true of any subject.

Being able to teach in an atmosphere of love is vital. Teaching in an armed camp makes that very difficult.  Teachers should not have to be armed with weaponry, they should be armed with knowledge and wisdom.  They should be provided with basic school supplies, not bullets.

Worship and service to Christ can live and grow and light up the generations.  Teach by example.  Teach by love.  Becoming the hands and feet of Christ inspires it in others. 

Bless the teachers among us.  Whether it is Sunday School or biology, math or preschool, social studies or the language arts, athletics or band, science or choir - they all sing to the human spirit, increase our knowledge of the world, our caring for each other, our love of learning and our love of the Lord.

As the Saturday Night Live comedy skit shows, the solution to the clanging of cowbell dominating a song is not more cowbell.  That just makes it harder to hear the song you want to hear.

So it is with guns.  The solution to guns is never more guns.  That will lead to more noise and threats, more fear and jumpiness, more gun violence.  Our schools and churches and concerts are not going to be made safer by turning them into police state style armed camps.  The solution lies in banning military-style weaponry.  Country after country shows the same statistic - the fewer guns, the greater the reduction in the amount of gun violence.  The more guns, the greater the number of gun-related deaths.

Teach our children well.  Those who teach and those who learn should be able to do us in an atmosphere of love and peace.  Not with a holstered gun, or a rifle strapped to their backs.

Bless teachers and students everywhere, young and old alike.