Today’s readings
Today’s homily was a brief one in order to provide time for Increased Offertory Commitment
Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.
One of the great hallmarks of the Gospel is that it proclaims things nobody wants to hear, let alone do. And the end of today’s gospel passage is a wonderful example of that. Listen again:
Whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.
That’s a challenge to all of us, but particularly to anyone in a position of leadership. It’s an injunction that I need to take very seriously as I lead this parish in the name of Jesus. I need to lead as Jesus would lead. How did he lead? Well, listen to that part again:
For the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
And if I need a picture of that, all I need to do is look up there on that cross. Dying, dying to self, giving up our lives for others, that’s what servant leadership is all about. And Jesus was all about servant leadership.
As I said, that’s a serious injunction for me, but also for all who are in leadership positions. It applies to those who have authority over others in workplaces. Teachers in schools, community leaders, heads of families, and here’s a good one for November 5th: it applies to leaders of our nation, lawmakers, judges, and government officials at every level. That’s a serious consideration for our voting – which of these leaders will serve and not just rule?
Servant leadership is life-changing and community-changing. Servant leaders empower others and help them to reach their full potential. Servant leaders never ask anything of anyone something they are unwilling to take on themselves. Servant leaders make decisions, but they also roll up there sleeves and get in there with everyone else to do what needs to be done.
And that’s a particularly important part of the Gospel. Giving of ourselves in whatever way we need to in order to affect the common good and the good of those in our care is fundamental. We’re not going to be executed to pay for the sins of many, but we may have to get up in the middle of the night to tend to a sick child, or anoint a sick parishioner at the end of a long day, or help a younger sibling figure out a homework problem, or bring the neighbor’s trash bin up when you see it in the street.
Servant leadership frees us from selfishness, and from worry about our own petty issues. It’s amazing what voluntarily working for the good of someone else does to help you realize that your own issues are not all that important, and that God can take care of both of you. Servant leadership frees us to be the best leader we can be in every situation.
Servant leadership, of course, is a choice. We have to choose, every day, to give ourselves for others; we have to choose to live the Gospel in every moment. Being the servant of all might not seem palatable in every moment, but we do have a God who took it on himself, in a much more violent way, that we may live. He gave himself for us, so that we might have something to give to others. Servant leadership is the way, and we are all called to live it.