The first seminarians were the twelve disciples of Jesus. I sometimes try to think of them and how they encountered Jesus every day; how they engaged in the formation process. I think of them as insecure. I think of Jesus as the ideal formator: rector, vice rector, spiritual director and professor rolled into one. Jesus was charged with the responsibility of seeing to the spiritual, pastoral, human and intellectual formation of his disciples. When I think of their spiritual formation, I recall Jesus telling his disciples to fast, or to watch and pray. I recall him going off to a quiet place with Peter, James and John to pray. By the way, what was the deal with Peter, James and John anyway? It was always them that Jesus was going off to places with. The Synoptic Gospels mention them far more than any of the other nine disciples. I wonder why Peter, James and John were so popular in their seminary.
Anyway. We were talking of their spiritual formation. I recall when Jesus took – again, here goes – Peter, James and John up the hill to be transfigured in front of them. He began to shine as bright as light, and the bible mentions that his clothes were whiter than any local bleacher could make them. And then, Moses and Elijah came and stood with him. Theologians say that Moses and Elijah represented the Law and the Prophets, which Jesus came to fulfill. What a spiritual experience this must have been for the three seminarians, Peter, James and John. The bible tells us that Peter was so awed by the event that he proposed to build tents for them all, so that they would never have to leave the site of the transfiguration.
Still as part of their spiritual formation, Jesus welcomed his seminarians to the world of exorcism. He taught them how to cast out unclean spirits by fasting and prayer. And his disciples saw him do so. They saw him drive demons – Legion, as they were called – from the body of a possessed man into a herd of pigs. They saw him cure blind, lame, deaf, dumb and leprous individuals. They saw him cure the paralytic who was let down in the middle of a house through the roof. They saw him heal the woman with the issue of blood, who touched him among a crowd of many. They saw him attend to the spiritual needs of the Syrophoenician woman. They saw him heal Jairus’ daughter, when he said: “Little girl, I charge you to sit up straight!” They saw him heal the centurion’s servant. They saw him heal the man with the withered hand. They saw him heal and heal and heal. They saw him change water into wine; they saw him calm the seas. They saw him feed five thousand with five loaves and two fish. They saw him walk on water. They saw him do many wonderful things. And by his name they did similar things.
The first seminarians also had pastoral formation. Jesus sent them out two by two one time to preach. And when they came back he asked them not to rejoice at the miracles they encountered as they preached but at the fact that their names were written in the Book of Life. They learnt from Jesus how to be patient with parishioners, and not to call down fire from heaven on them as once James and John suggested he do, when Jesus was rejected at a certain town. Jesus also told them not to be concerned with material provisions for their mission work, but to accept whatever they were given, for a laborer deserves his wages, Jesus said. Jesus told them not to take a materialistic approach to ministry, but to always lean on the providence of the divine. This was good pastoral formation. Jesus also taught them about ecumenism, when the disciples reported to him that they had seen someone casting out demons in Jesus’ name who was not part of their number and they had tried to stop him. Jesus had at that time asked them not to stop him, since anyone that was not against them was in a sense for them.
The first seminarians also had human formation. They struggled with their human weaknesses. They often bickered for example about who was the greatest seminarian. At one of such periods, Jesus placed a child in their midst and said that whoever welcomed a child welcomed him. Again at the Last Supper, Jesus washed their feet to show that the first should be the last and the leader should be the servant of all. Jesus always sought out opportunities to teach his disciples humility and to remind them that humility was the prerequisite for entrance into the Kingdom of God. He wanted them to know that without humility they could not be properly children of God, who resists the proud.
And of course the disciples had intellectual formation. Theirs was a rich theological training. I recall once when Jesus asked them who people said he was. They replied that people said Jesus was Elijah or John the Baptist or one of the prophets. And when Jesus asked them who they thought he was, Peter replied that he was the Christ. They got to learn in so many ways who this Jesus was, and even more powerfully so after the Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon them and made them priests finally. They had been ordained at the Last Supper, but it was at Pentecost that they were given ministerial appointments, after their intense seminary experience. These priests were now able to understand the significance of Jesus’ having done all he said he would do. They were now other Christs.
Anyway. We were talking of their spiritual formation. I recall when Jesus took – again, here goes – Peter, James and John up the hill to be transfigured in front of them. He began to shine as bright as light, and the bible mentions that his clothes were whiter than any local bleacher could make them. And then, Moses and Elijah came and stood with him. Theologians say that Moses and Elijah represented the Law and the Prophets, which Jesus came to fulfill. What a spiritual experience this must have been for the three seminarians, Peter, James and John. The bible tells us that Peter was so awed by the event that he proposed to build tents for them all, so that they would never have to leave the site of the transfiguration.
Still as part of their spiritual formation, Jesus welcomed his seminarians to the world of exorcism. He taught them how to cast out unclean spirits by fasting and prayer. And his disciples saw him do so. They saw him drive demons – Legion, as they were called – from the body of a possessed man into a herd of pigs. They saw him cure blind, lame, deaf, dumb and leprous individuals. They saw him cure the paralytic who was let down in the middle of a house through the roof. They saw him heal the woman with the issue of blood, who touched him among a crowd of many. They saw him attend to the spiritual needs of the Syrophoenician woman. They saw him heal Jairus’ daughter, when he said: “Little girl, I charge you to sit up straight!” They saw him heal the centurion’s servant. They saw him heal the man with the withered hand. They saw him heal and heal and heal. They saw him change water into wine; they saw him calm the seas. They saw him feed five thousand with five loaves and two fish. They saw him walk on water. They saw him do many wonderful things. And by his name they did similar things.
The first seminarians also had pastoral formation. Jesus sent them out two by two one time to preach. And when they came back he asked them not to rejoice at the miracles they encountered as they preached but at the fact that their names were written in the Book of Life. They learnt from Jesus how to be patient with parishioners, and not to call down fire from heaven on them as once James and John suggested he do, when Jesus was rejected at a certain town. Jesus also told them not to be concerned with material provisions for their mission work, but to accept whatever they were given, for a laborer deserves his wages, Jesus said. Jesus told them not to take a materialistic approach to ministry, but to always lean on the providence of the divine. This was good pastoral formation. Jesus also taught them about ecumenism, when the disciples reported to him that they had seen someone casting out demons in Jesus’ name who was not part of their number and they had tried to stop him. Jesus had at that time asked them not to stop him, since anyone that was not against them was in a sense for them.
The first seminarians also had human formation. They struggled with their human weaknesses. They often bickered for example about who was the greatest seminarian. At one of such periods, Jesus placed a child in their midst and said that whoever welcomed a child welcomed him. Again at the Last Supper, Jesus washed their feet to show that the first should be the last and the leader should be the servant of all. Jesus always sought out opportunities to teach his disciples humility and to remind them that humility was the prerequisite for entrance into the Kingdom of God. He wanted them to know that without humility they could not be properly children of God, who resists the proud.
And of course the disciples had intellectual formation. Theirs was a rich theological training. I recall once when Jesus asked them who people said he was. They replied that people said Jesus was Elijah or John the Baptist or one of the prophets. And when Jesus asked them who they thought he was, Peter replied that he was the Christ. They got to learn in so many ways who this Jesus was, and even more powerfully so after the Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon them and made them priests finally. They had been ordained at the Last Supper, but it was at Pentecost that they were given ministerial appointments, after their intense seminary experience. These priests were now able to understand the significance of Jesus’ having done all he said he would do. They were now other Christs.
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