Fr. Bob - The True Leader
Two of the disciples come to Jesus. They’ve got a request. “Jesus, when you make it big and we know you will we’d really appreciate if you could name us as vice presidents of your organization?” For whatever reason they thought they were entitled to that. And when the other ten disciples hear of their request ? All hell breaks loose, and the squabble begins. It seems they wanted those places of honor just as much as James and John did.
After all that time with Jesus, and the disciples are still stuck on needing to be the top dog. Seeing this did Jesus roll his eyes? Maybe. But we do know calls them out and minces no words.
“Whoever wants to be great among you must be the least among you. For I did not come to be served but to serve and to give my life for the sake of the many.” Jess’ message is clear. If you need to be the top dog your ego is in the way and ambition has taken over. At this point all we can say is that if this motley group is the future leaders of the church they’ve got a long way to go
So, what does a true leader look like? There are any number of qualities that could be said of the true leader. For our purposes today I mention three of them. First, a true leader is compassionate. It’s a compassion, that is demonstrated in a caring presence that seeks first to understand, and then in non-judgment listens with an open mind.
Secondly, the true leader is humble. If your ego is in the way you’re not really leading. You’re simply using your power to manipulate others to get what you want. Only when the ego is out of the way can the leader be humble enough to truly act on behalf of others and not themselves.
And thirdly the true leader is courageous. They have the courage to not let fear prevent them from standing up for what they know is right. The true leader doesn’t avoid conflict. They take it on as a way of resolving conflict. And it takes honest and respectful listening to get you there.
Compassion, humility, and courage, three qualities that develop the integrity that makes for a true leader. Yet, humility and courage are held in a delicate balance. You need both. The leader with humility but without courage is weak. And the leader with courage but without humility is dangerous.
More than ever the world needs true leaders or “servant leaders” as I’ve heard them called. We need these servant leaders in our families, in our church, and in this election year we need servant leaders among those running for public office.
And our job as followers of Jesus? More than ever the world needs everyday leaders who can live the powerful witness of compassion, humility and courage. The bickering disciple of Jesus learned how to get there. And with the help of the Holy Spirit so can we.
