You must not allow yourselves to be called teachers for you have only one Teacher, the Christ. St. Augustine of Hippo is one of the most prolific Christian writers to have lived. Born in Tagaste in North Africa to a Christian mother (St. Monica) and a pagan father, Augustine’s journey to sainthood was not an express one. Although born and raised in the Church through his mother’s influence, Augustine soon found himself outside the Church as he embarked on a search for what he believed was happiness and the truth. His search left him a restless soul for wherever his search took him, he never found rest or happiness. It was not until he found his way back to the Church that he realized that the name of that which he spent his life searching is God. The happiness and rest which humanity seeks is none other than God, for human souls remain restless until they rest in God (St. Augustine).
St. Augustine’s search for happiness took him to the extremes. Not only did he engage in lifestyles that were destructive and careless, he also found himself subscribing to heretical schools of thought and beliefs. It took the intervention of his mother who untiringly prayed to God on his behalf for him to renounce his waywardness and return to the Church. Thereafter, Augustine devoted himself to a heroic regimen of preaching and writing in defense of the Christian faith, becoming one of the greatest teachers the Church has ever had (hence the title ‘Doctor of the Church’). It is perhaps because of this very fact that the Gospel passage for today was selected.
Today’s Gospel passage is part of Jesus’ address to the crowd following a couple of attempts by the Sadducees and the Pharisees to entrap him in speech. Even though he did successfully answer the questions posed to him as a test, Jesus appears to have been angered by their move. As a response to the unflattering means to discredit him to which the religious leaders had resorted, Jesus cautions his disciples against referring to others as teachers because of human weakness. A teacher is someone upon whom one can rely in season and out of season. However, human teachers can sometimes err (and they often do) in their search for the truth. St. Augustine’s search took him away from the truth despite the talents with which he had been gifted. Some of the human teachers that he met on his journey of seeking for truth and happiness led him astray. It was not until he encountered the real teacher – Jesus - that he found peace. 
St. Augustine might be called a Doctor of the Church, and rightly so, and his writings might be revered as insightful and a work of a sublime mind. However, his great works are considered as such insofar as they reflect the teachings of the one, true teacher, Jesus Christ. Like St. Augustine, may our search for happiness and truth lead us to rest in the source of all happiness and truth, Jesus Christ.