"Comfort each other and edify one another ... and
we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you ... esteem them very highly
in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among yourselves." Do you remember your
teachers in school? I remember some of mine. I remember the best and the worst. The
average teacher is easily forgotten. What about the teachers in this church? I am not
talking about the teachers in the Sunday School alone. Paul appeals to us to support the
teachers as they are above us. We all teach, but only a few are teachers. I teach my
daughter, but I am not a teacher. I teach my husband and he teaches me, but we are not
teachers. A teacher is someone special. Paul places the gift of teaching above miracles
and just below the apostles and prophets.
A teacher, a good teacher, teaches more than the student. One of Sara's first teachers
was Lotus Gerards. When Sara came home after Sunday School and I talked with her about
what happened in Sunday School, Lotus also taught me. Even now, when Sara tells us what
happened in Confirmation Class, I have to rethink my memories of confirmation and what I
believe as a Christian.
Sunday School supports me. I find Sunday morning incomplete without the combination of
Church and Sunday School. Teaching, preaching, singing, communion, fellowship are needed
to make the day complete. Paul adds the admonition to support the teachers. While I am
getting support from Pastor Jerry as a teacher, when does he or the other teachers get
support? When was the last time I, or you, ever thanked a teacher?
So thank you. Thank you for teaching me facts on the Bible, math, history, English,
etc. Thank you for being an example to me in your daily life and church life. I may forget
the names of all my teachers, but I remember, for better or worse, the lessons. I remember
that Jesus spent the days before and after Easter teaching his disciples. Even the lessons
they did not then understand became meaningful after his death and resurrection.
