who can't teach you?
"As Peter entered, Cornelius went to meet him, dropped to his knees before him and bowed low." —Acts 10:25
The Holy Spirit wants to teach us all things (Jn 14:26). For example, He wants to teach us how to be parents, wives, husbands, lay single people, and members of religious communities. The Spirit wants to teach us how to spend our money, eat, talk, think, work, love, live, and die. Because the Holy Spirit wants to teach us so much, the proper relationship with Him is to be teachable, that is, docile.
Most of the time the Spirit does not teach us directly but indirectly. He teaches us through people, such as parents, pastors, spouses, brothers, sisters, strangers, and even enemies. To be docile means to be able to learn from anyone the Holy Spirit chooses to teach through. For example, Cornelius, a powerful Roman centurion, was humbly submissive to the teaching of Peter, an uneducated Jewish fisherman (see Acts 10:25ff). The secretary of the treasury of the Ethiopian government asked the simple Philip to teach him from the Bible (Acts 8:27ff).
Who do you consider to be the last person in the world to teach you anything? If the Spirit so chooses, are you willing to be taught by him or her? If so, you are docile and ready to receive the Holy Spirit. If not, you are in danger of rejecting the Holy Spirit.
Prayer: Father, teach me about being teachable.
Promise: "Love, then, consists in this: not that we have loved God but that He has loved us and has sent His Son as an Offering for our sins." —1 Jn 4:10
Praise: Praise the risen Jesus, Who baptizes us in the Spirit! (Mk 1:8)
Reference: (For a related teaching, order our tape Gifts of the Spirit on audio AV 3A-1, AV 3A-3, AV 3B-1, AV 3B-3 or on a video series of two tapes starting with V-3A.)
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Giles H. Pater, October 17, 2002
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, October 21, 2002