They said to him, "Rabbi" - which translated means Teacher -I was always confused as to why the felt the need to put that in there. I mean, the whole Bible is a translation from Hebrew/Greek to English. Why keep one Hebrew word in there and then tell you what the translation of it is. Just doesn't make sense. But, thankfully for me, my questions were answered with Father's homily. Allow me to quote it here:
"As was mentioned, Rabbi is roughly equivalent to Teacher, but this rendering is only an approximation that misses part of the truth. A rabbi in Jesus' day was not a fellow who simply walked into a classroom and lectured his students for a few hours a week. To be a rabbi meant teaching your disciples by sharing your lives together. Rabbis and their disciples lived together, worked together, dined together, journeyed together. It was very much like a familial/paternal relationship. A rabbi really got to know his followers and vice-versa."
After hearing all this, I had an epiphany moment... Is Jesus your teacher or rabbi? What I mean by that: Jesus as teacher - you hang out for an hour a week, maybe more, learn a little something, but go on with your life. Jesus as rabbi - every part of your life includes Jesus. You work with Him, you dine with Him, you journey with Him, AND you hang out with Him once a week or maybe more. Your faith isn't just something that happens on Sundays, it's everyday, and every moment of every day.
I have to admit, I spent a good portion of my life with Jesus as my teacher. And sometimes, it's easy to allow myself to fall back into that trap. Jesus as teacher is the easy route, it's a challenge to have Him be your rabbi. I guess sometimes I just need that little reminder.
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