Compassion and teaching
Jesus was called Teacher though he never graduated from a teacher’s training institute. He had a passion to teach and compassion (Mathew 6:34) to reach out to people. Neither time nor place was a constraint for him.
He taught from hill tops and plains (Mathew: 5); he taught from a boat (Luke5:1-3); he taught in the synagogue.
He was a successful teacher, because, he felt the deepest needs of those who listened to him.
A story is told of Mrs Thompson who walked into her fifth standard class and told her students that she loved all of them equally.
She actually lied because loving little Theodore in her class was going to be very difficult, because, he was shabbily dressed and an extremely shy and introvert child.
As the days went by, she scorned him, failed him and posted red indicators on his report card for poor performance.
At school, teachers were to review past records of every student. Mrs Thompson was in for a surprise when she read the remarks of the previous years. Theodore’s first standard teacher had written: “He is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners...he is a joy to be around."
His second standard teacher wrote, "Theodore is an excellent student, well-liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle." His third standard teacher had written, “His mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best but his father does not show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps are not taken."
His fourth standard teacher wrote, “The boy is withdrawn and does not show much interest in school. He does not have many friends and sometimes sleeps in class."
Tears welled up in the teacher’s eyes when she realised how insensitive she was.
At Christmas, she received from Theodore, half-bottle perfume and a used-bracelet.
When she opened it in class, all the students laughed. She dabbed some perfume on her wrist and wore the bracelet and appreciated Theodore’s gift. After school, he told his teacher, “Teacher, you smell just like my mum used to with that perfume on you”. Mrs Thompson wept bitterly with compassion. Years later, Theodore began to correspond almost every year with his teacher with the words, “You were my best Teacher”.
At his marriage, he asked if she could take the place of his mother in Church, as he had no Mother. His Teacher came dressed with the same bracelet and perfume.
Theodore, now a highly learned man, was shocked to hear his teacher tell him on his wedding, “My greatest teacher was you. You taught me compassion.”
Are you a teacher? Are you compassionate enough to feel the pain of others in your heart?
