Mathew 11: 2-11. The apprentice, the master and the ego.

Whatever role you take up, their comes a point when your "apprentice" overtakes you, in wisdom, humour, academia, work, anything really.

My son outplays me at FIFA every time.

My daughter outsmarts my every discussion.

The lads I brought into the workplace are now paid to travel the world

The students of the past are now teaching far better than I ever could.

There's something both amazing and difficult about the student becoming the master. We spend the first half of our lives trying to be the "Master." We want to be the ones with the answers, the skills, and the strength.

But if we are doing our jobs right, we eventually work ourselves out of a position.

This Sunday’s reading from Matthew (11: 2-11) gives us a masterclass in this difficult transition, featuring two of the heaviest hitters in the New Testament: John the Baptist and Jesus.

The different take on John and Jesus is important here We usually think of John and Jesus as cousins, but historians and theologians often suggest a different dynamic: Teacher and Student.

Jesus was fully God, yes, but he was also fully man. As a man, he had to learn. He didn't come out of the womb quoting Torah. It is highly likely that Jesus started his ministry as a disciple of John. He sat in the crowd. He listened to the "Master."

And what was the Master teaching? John was a "fire and brimstone" kind of guy. He preached about an axe cutting down rotten trees. He spoke of a Messiah who would burn the useless chaff. He was preparing the way for a Judge.

Fast forward to the Gospel reading. John is in prison. He hears reports about what his former student is doing, and he is confused.

Jesus isn't swinging an axe. He isn't burning chaff. He’s healing the sick. He’s eating with sinners before they repent. He’s preaching mercy, not destruction.

John is so puzzled that he sends messengers to ask, "Are you really the one? Or did I get this wrong?"

Here is the crux of the moment: The student had surpassed the master.

Jesus had taken what John taught him, but he evolved it. He moved the mission from Judgment (John's way) to Healing (Jesus' way). He realized that the world didn't need another axe; it needed a physician.

Whether you are a parent, a partner, or a worker, you have "apprentices." You are teaching them how to survive and live a moral life. But the hardest part is realising that they might see things better than we do.

We teach our children to be strong, and suddenly they teach us that vulnerability is a form of strength we hadn't considered. We teach a new employee the "company way," and they invent a new solution that works better.

Our ego wants to say: "Listen here, I’ve been doing this since before you were born. Stick to the script."

John the Baptist could have done that. He could have denounced Jesus for going "soft." Instead, John shows us what true humility looks like. He accepts that the one who came after him now ranks before him. He realises that his job wasn't to create a clone of himself, but to launch someone who would go further than he ever could.

There is a theology to being surpassed.

If Jesus—the Son of God—had the humility to sit and learn as an apprentice, surely we can have the humility to keep learning from the generation rising behind us.

We are not the finished product. We are just the shoulders they stand on.

As parents:

When our children challenge our worldview, don't just shut them down. Ask yourself: Are they seeing a "healing" way where I only see a "judgment" way?

As workers:

When your new colleague suggests a change, don't protect your turf. Remember that the goal of a master craftsman is to train an apprentice who eventually becomes a master themselves.

The bottom line in today's Gospel is that success isn't remaining the smartest person in the room until the day you die. Success is looking at the people you raised, trained, or mentored, and realising they have become stronger, wiser, and better than you.

When that happens, don't be bitter. Be like John. Step back, smile, and let them lead.

Try and drop the "Expert" badge for one hour this week. Find a young person in your life—your child, a niece/nephew , a colleague—and ask them to teach you something they love, anything. Then have the humility to learn from them.

"I don't know much about this. Can you teach me?"