Sacred Thinking by Mike Denz

I searched for the word “taught” in the four gospels. I wanted to see how many times the gospels said Jesus taught. I found it used in this way a total of seventeen times:

1. And he opened his mouth and taught them. –Matthew 5:2

2. He taught them as one who had authority. –Matthew 7:9

3. And coming to his own country he taught them in their synagogue. –Matthew 13:54

4. And they went into Caperna-um; and immediately on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. –Mark 1:21

5. He went out again beside the sea; and all the crowd gathered about him, and he taught them. –Mark 2:13

6. And he taught them many things in parables. –Mark 4:2

7. And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again; and again, as his custom was, he taught them. –Mark 10:1

8. And he taught, and said to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations? –Mark 11:17

9. And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? –Mark 12:35

10. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. –Luke 4:15

11. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. –Luke 5:3

12. On another sabbath, when he entered the synagogue and taught, a man was there whose right hand was withered. –Luke 6:6

13. This he said in the synagogue, as he taught at Caperna-um. –John 6:59

14. About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. –John 7:14

15. So Jesus proclaimed, as he taught in the temple. –John 7:28

16. Early in the morning he came again to the temple; all the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. –John 8:2

17. These words he spoke in the treasury, as he taught in the temple. -John 8:20

And these aren’t the only times Jesus taught. I could have also searched for teach, teaching, teaches and some others, but you get the point. Jesus spend much of His time teaching. Which begs the question – How much time do we spend learning?

As adult Catholics, some of us learned the Catholic Faith in Sunday school and some of us went to Catholic school and learned there. Still others learned about the Faith in RCIA before they became a Catholic as an adult. But for most of us our formal Catholic education ended at age 18 or earlier.

So, God the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity, became a man. He spent the last 3 years of His human life on earth teaching… teaching a lot. This teaching was about God, eternal life, our lives, why we are here, how to have peace and joy, how to be close to Him, what our purpose is and what God has planned for us. This teaching was not just for those alive at the time. Jesus also established a Church to preserve and pass on all His teachings.

And most of us stopped learning His teachings when we were 18 our younger.

Hmmmm…

But you can change this. You can take part in the many different offerings to learn the Faith. You can read the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Catechism for Adults. You can take advantage of the many videos, movies, books and talks on Formed. You can listen to Catholic radio.

So, take advantage. We have no excuse. As Jesus said…

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” -Matthew 11:29-30