Thursday, July 18, 2024
Gospel Reflection: True Leadership
The Rev. Rob Stevens
Matthew 20:20-28
The mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked a favor of him. And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Declare that these two sons of mine will sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.” He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
When the ten heard it, they were angry with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
What does true leadership look like?
This is where the Gospel of the World and the Gospel of Jesus Christ are most at odds. The Gospel of the World says things like, “might makes right” and “follow me or else.” The Gospel of Jesus says, “I came that you might have life and life abundantly” and “leaders come not be served but to serve.” The servant leadership that Jesus embodies is a call to each one of us to exercise servant leadership in whatever way we can. This is not a simple or easy task. We are bombarded by rhetoric that is the exact opposite. We are told we need leaders that will save us from our enemies by destroying them and these “leaders” pit us against one another. They seek to divide and not unite. This is not new, and it is not going away. Jesus invites us to another way. Of truly seeing each other as children of God. Jesus reminds us over and over that we are all in the same human family and that when one of us suffers we all suffer. I encourage you to resist that temptation to divide and judge.
The Prayer attributed to St. Francis is a good place for me to return to daily (at least) to remember what real leadership looks like. It reminds me of my work. What if we prayed this daily together and used it as our guide through the next year or better yet our entire lifetime?
Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is
hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where
there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where
there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where
there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to
be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is
in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we
are born to eternal life. Amen.