restoring the original goodness: Saturday Lent after Ash Wednesday 2013

To be called repairer of the breach, and restorer of ruined homesteads in our first reading today works on the presumption that something got ruined that has to be repaired, and something has to be restored to its former magnificence.  So the process is like this - good, ruined, repaired.  This was originally good, it was eventually broken, then finally it was restored to its original quality.

This process also follows the action of God in salvation history.  God created us and pronounced us very good.  But then man disobeyed God and fell into sin – starting with the murder of Abel by his brother Cain, to the murderous spree of Lamech who boasted of killing hundreds.  But then God intervened, sending flood and ruin to the earth, thus eventually renewing everything once more with Noah in the ark and his sons and daughters. 

But then the attempt it seemed did not work out fine, and man plunged himself deeper into ruin, unable to free himself from his destructive choices until the day when the Son of God himself died for our sake that we may once more recover our original image.  Jesus died for us, to restore the breach and to raise up once more the ruined homesteads.  In general this is what Jesus has done – his death was not just simply to take away our original sin but primarily to restore to us the original grace so that we may recover our original goodness.

In a more personal note this is what is being shown us in the life of Matthew or Levi in our gospel today.  Jesus restores the original goodness of Levi once destroyed by his greed and by a system where corruption is endemic.  With Jesus Matthew discovers his true self-worth, his goodness, and his capacity for excellence.  This was not something new in Matthew.  It was merely restored.  But again it was not just merely and simply restored for it took the action of the Son, the sacrifice of the son and eventually the death and resurrection of the Son.  Alone, man cannot restore the original goodness.  It would take an action from the Son. 

Jesus is called teacher.  In fact a scribe, somebody learned in those times, recognized in Jesus this reality when he called Jesus, good teacher.

Today teacher’s day we focus our eyes on Jesus, the good teacher.  He believes that man was made good, essentially good.  Every potential is already there.  Every capacity for goodness is already there.  Every good prospect awaits to be unleashed and freed in the individual.  It is the role of the teacher to discover this potential and to restore the original grace that was rightfully man’s.  The teacher may coax these with some gentle persuasion so that it can develop; many times the teacher should know what is preventing these from coming out into the open;   other times a person should be shaken up so as to make him realize what has been buried inside for so long in his lethargic state;  many times the repairer of the breach has to build up brick by brick, stone by stone in unending patience;  but many times the restorer may have to destroy unnecessary structures and even  blockages in order to rebuild.  And in all these like the good teacher many times the teacher is called to die to self in an unending hope that something good may be discovered and perhaps restored one day.

Again we train our eyes to the good teacher.  Today we honor him, the good teacher - repairer of the breach, and restorer of ruined homesteads, teacher of Levi who came as a doctor not just to heal the sick but above all to restore to health.

May we become good teachers, may we learn to appreciate good teachers, may we become teachers to one another.