There are two categories of members in the church, the clergy and the laity. Usually we think that it is the role of the clergy to teach, and that of the laity to learn. Many lay people spend their entire lives learning the word of God and never think of teaching or sharing it. Many ordained people spend their lives teaching, forgetting that they too are called to be lifelong learners or students of God's word. In today's second reading from 2 Timothy, we are reminded that, clergy or laity, all of us are called to be learners and teachers of the word of God.

Today's second reading can be divided into three sections: an opening section (2 Timothy 3:14-15) focussing on learning, a closing section (4:1-2) focussing on teaching, and a middle section (3:16-17) focussing on the importance of Scripture. This is a way of saying two things: (a) that Scripture is useful for both learning and teaching the Word of God, and (b) that in order to go from a life of learning to a life of teaching the faith, one needs to go through the Scriptures.

In the first section we see that learning, like charity, begins at home. Timothy began learning the faith from childhood. His teachers were his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice (2 Tim 1:5) and later, the apostle Paul (2 Tim 1:13). The teaching that parents give to children is most important because it is the foundation for life. As the book of Proverbs says, "Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray" (Proverbs 22:6). Secondly, we see that faith learning should be based on the Scriptures, which are "able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." Sometimes parents teach children fables which they abandon as soon as they begin to think for themselves because such fables are not founded on the Word of God. Thirdly, we see that learning and faith go together. Learning is the sure foundation for a strong faith. Timothy had a strong faith because he was well instructed in the faith.

This section of the passage dwells on the importance of teaching. We are solemnly urged to proclaim the message at all times, "whether the time is favourable or unfavourable." This reminds us of the saying of St. Francis of Assisi, "Preach the gospel at all times; use words if necessary." We preach with our lives and lifestyles. Our lives are the only Bibles some of our neighbours will ever read. We preach at all times with our lives; we use words only when necessary. Moreover, we see that proclaiming the message takes different forms depending on the situation. We may aim to convince the doubtful, to rebuke the deceitful, to encourage the weak, and to instruct the ignorance, always with patience.

Bad teachers tell people what to do without telling them how to do it. Paul is a good teacher. He tells us what to do and how to do it. Having told us how important it is for us as Christians to be learners as well as teachers, he now tells us how to do it: namely, with the help of the Scriptures. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching as well as for learning how to live the godly life. Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ, as St. Jerome tells us. Let us take our Christian life to the next level today by resolving to listen to the Word of God and share it with others more than we have ever done.