Let’s step back a few weeks…Jesus’ ministry is rejected in his own home town of Nazareth, but he continues his preaching in surrounding villages; he has sent his apostles out in twos giving them “authority over unclean spirits.” His apostles are returning and Jesus himself is gathering larger crowds each day. You can imagine those feelings—the excitement of the returning apostles, the hopeful expectations of Jesus, the exhilaration of the crowds who have witnessed Jesus’ words. And, we can appreciate the weariness of the apostles and Jesus, and understand their desire to “get away by themselves for a few days.” (pause)
So it is also in our liturgical cycle; in the midst of the summer, we pause this weekend to step back for a moment to assess the situation before the crowd of five thousand gather and are fed with five loaves and two fish in next week’s gospel.
And, what do we focus on? The first two readings help us to reflect on and appreciate what is in Mark’s gospel. These readings are about leadership. Yes, leadership! Even the Responsorial psalm, which we usually find in a funeral liturgy, speaks of God’s leadership as the Good Shepherd and as king—and about the pastoral care of the people.
And, how does this relate to us today? Remember, we are a communal people. We live in communities whether that community is as small as Clinton or as large as Seattle. We are a communal people spiritually as well. We are a community of faith here at St Hubert, in the Archdiocese of Seattle and of the Roman rite, part of the universal Catholic Church.
And, by our very nature, we are attracted to what we perceive to be strong leaders. When we don’t have strong leaders, we feel we are floundering just as the people Jeremiah is addressing in the first reading. They were foundering because their leaders were weak and corrupt. Jeremiah is chastising his country’s leaders for misleading the people, for scattering the flock, driving many away from the community.
Jeremiah is offering the people of Judah a different vision of leadership. Jeremiah, speaking God’s words, is giving hope to those who are exiled; offering a shepherd who will no longer govern from fear, but will govern wisely in justice and righteousness.
Leaders must be capable of uniting the people in truth, and in reconciling differences in establishing the common good and peace. When we think of Jesus and those who followed him that now make up the hierarchy of the Church, our vision of leadership might be one of being strong yet compassionate, being truthful even when it is unpopular and inconvenient. And in Paul’s letter, he speaks of a leader who establishes peace, not by the sword or the law, but by reconciling one to the other, in this case Jew and Gentile. The same applies today to our Church hierarchy and our civil governments as well. But, that has not been our experience in the Church until recently and certainly not our experience in our government leaders. Hopefully that may change in September when Pope Francis will meet with the President and will speak to a joint session of Congress. Like Jeremiah, I am confident Pope Francis will give hope to the poor and marginalized of our country; encouraging all to govern in justice and righteousness. And, he will speak directly to our government and business leaders about the crisis in sustaining God’s creation, both the earth and of mankind.
When we think of leaders, we naturally tend to think about those in the highest echelons of authority: presidents, governors, mayors; corporate chief executives; the Holy Father, bishops and pastors. But leadership does not stop there. We all have a responsibility for the common good…that is what society calls us to do. That is what our discipleship calls us to do. Active engagement with right intention is essential to the Church and to our civil governments.
As for the Church, by the grace of the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and the Eucharist, we are all given the responsibility of being leaders in the Church…what I prefer to call “servant leaders” with the image of the “good shepherd” as our model. What do I mean by “servant Leader?” Servant leaders are individuals who emerge in the wisdom of the Holy Spirit as leaders because they are proven and trusted as servants. It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then, the conscious choice brings one to leadership…but it all begins with being a servant. Servant leaders, like the Good Shepherd, are caring people, people with hope, people with dreams…people whose imagination offers a vision of the common good—bringing people together, finding consensus, working cooperatively. As Pope Francis recently said to the new bishops and cardinals, “be pastors, not princes.”
Servant leaders bridge the disunity we are experiencing now and promote the common good. Servant leaders have a deepening sense of meaning in their lives and are driven by the Holy Spirit. Servant leaders, like the Good Shepherd, are sustained and nurtured by building a circle of friends, a community of faith, such as this community of faith; and by fostering networks of human compassion and justice.
It is not enough for us to be satisfied with others being our leaders. By our baptism, in our confirmation and by virtue of us receiving Eucharist today, each of us is called to be something more—to be servant leaders to one another.
How might you become a servant leader? How might you discern your gifts of time and talent that you can share for the common good? How might we together continue to discern, advocate and engage ourselves in building the Kingdom of God, the common good?
In his recent encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si and in many of his homilies, Pope Francis calls each of us to leadership, a servant leadership “capable of striking out on new paths and meeting the needs of the present with concern for all…”
Here at St Hubert we are blessed with a wide variety ministries, with opportunities for faith formation and service to others. The Parish Ministry Guide lists twenty-six ministry opportunities now serving our faith community and the broader community. Many of these existing ministries need your support—your active participation. Pray on it! We can be so much more.
And, I am convinced there are new efforts that could be initiated if some of you only discerned your gifts and engaged yourselves in bringing about building up the Kingdom of God. Gather with friends from this faith community and reflect on what you want from this parish, from this community of faith and what you have to offer.
Become a servant leader; become a good shepherd for others and then we all can accept Jesus’ invitation …and rest a while.å