Motorcycle riding is not a static sport. Yes, I know, it is not static because the motorcycle actually has to MOVE in order for you to engage in riding. But that is not what I mean by static. I am referring more towards the knowledge that it takes to ride well. I am not the same rider I was back when I started. I made a LOT of mistakes. Some that led to crashes and injuries. Some just hurt my pride. But each one of those missteps led to an improvement in technique and, therefore, safer and more enjoyable riding experiences. I recall riding here in Pennsylvania several years ago. I was riding with a small group and thought I needed to impress everyone with how fast I could ride. It was going well…until it wasn’t. I had not learned how to use the front brake effectively and was going to fast into a rocky right hand turn. I panicked and grabbed the front brake. The front wheel stopped turning abruptly, the wheel slid out and I went down like a ton of bricks. Was in a fog and forgot who and where I was for about 10 minutes. Along with breaking several items on the bike. I have since learned proper front brake technique and life is good.
So unless you are continually learning about a sport, hobby, or most aspects of life the world begins to pass you by. You lose ground. And I think it is the same with our faith lives. In today’s first reading from the Acts of the Apostles (don’t worry…no more Axe jokes) we are introduced to a fellow named Apollos. He apparently has learned a bit about the Gospel and the teachings of Jesus. He has taken this knowledge and has begun to preach in synagogues around the city of Ephesus. We are told that he mostly is accurate in what he is teaching. But in the crowds listening to Apollos were Priscilla and Aquila. Two more experienced converts to the faith. They realized that there were some inaccuracies in what Apollos was instructing the crowds and so they took him aside and explained the precepts of The Way in more detail. He apparently accepted these corrections and incorporated them into his presentations. As a consequence, he became an even more valuable leader in the new Church as he was encouraged to go to Achaia and teach there. We are told that:
After his arrival he gave great assistance
to those who had come to believe through grace.
He vigorously refuted the Jews in public,
establishing from the Scriptures that the Christ is Jesus.
Like my riding development, my faith walk has also changed and matured over the years. From grammar school at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, to Marist High School, to St. John’s Parish at the University of Illinois, to Corpus Christi in Carol Stream and now here in Pennsylvania at St. Michael’s Parish in Canton I have had faith communities to help nurture and grow in my knowledge of the faith. There have also been retreats, such as Cursillo, listening to Catholic Radio (Relevant Radio), regular reading of the Scriptures, Video reflections from USCCB and Father Burke Masters, and online Mass with Father Dave Swantek at St. Martha’s Parish in Point Pleasant, NJ. All these, and others that I am sure I am missing, have allowed me to move forward and grow in my knowledge of the Gospel.
While this growth has helped my own faith life, I think even more importantly this growth has allowed me to speak with increasing confidence to others about the Jesus’ teachings and the teachings of His Church. I think that once we get the idea that we have it figured out, and we can now cost into eternal life, we run the danger of this complacency allowing the secular world to creep in and gradually push out our focus on our faith.
“If you are not moving forward, you are moving backward”
I was surprised to learn that this quote is attributed to…wait for it…Mikhail Gorbachev, former leader of the Soviet Union. He was referring to nuclear disarmament when he made this quote but it has also been used by motivational speakers since then. The idea being that stagnation in growth leads to regression since the world around us is always in motion and changing. If we stand still, we get passed by. I think Catholic education back in the 60s and 70s was guilty of this. There was a sense that, once you received Confirmation, you were done in the Church. You can move to cruise control mode. But we have learned that this is just not true. We never stop learning. This is true in secular education as well as in our faith lives.
Father Burke Masters from the diocese of Joliet Illinois famously stated that the Church focuses too much on the education of children while neglecting adult education. But this is changing. We are seeing a surge in outlets for education of adults in the Church. Online programs such as Be Formed and the Bible in a Year series has given all of us the chance to continually move forward and become more effective voices for the Gospel. All we need to do is look for the Priscillas and Aquillas that God presents to us and take advantage of these opportunities for growth. I mean if you can’t take the word of a Russian dictator, who can you believe?!
