Cycle B - Year II:  

21 October 2018: Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Color: Green)

Readings:

First Reading:        Isaiah 53:10-11

Second Reading:   Hebrews 4:14-16

Gospel:  Please Read  Mark 10:35-45

The challenge of true leadership!

What is our concept of leadership?  Is leadership something obsessed with power, perks and privileges? Or is leadership really service to others, with humility and caring attitude?

Well, the Gospel this Sunday is a timely message on what true leadership is all about. For the word of God provides us daily tips on Christian living.

Now the Gospel narrates the third announcement of the Passion, and like in the previous ones, it shows us the incoherence of the disciples. They not only do not understand, but the disciples continue with their own personal ambitions. And so they persist discussing about the important places of honor in God's kingdom.

Thus, in today's incident, for example, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, have the audacity to ask our Lord Jesus if they could be on Jesus' right and the other on His left when the Lord comes into glory. Obviously, the two apostles are talking about the positions of power and privileges. And they want to even be higher than Peter!

At this point in our reflection, we cannot help to notice that in spite of the time that they were together, the disciples failed miserably most of the time during Jesus' public ministry at really comprehending His full identity and the Gospel way of life that our Lord proclaimed. This Gospel incident with James and John is a classic example of their failure to understand the teaching of Jesus.

For Jesus insists on leadership that is focused on service to others, and on the gift of one's own life, like our Lord Jesus did.

Thus, our Lord uses the proud, selfish question of the brothers James and John to teach the apostles about how God defines true greatness and leadership.

So Jesus said to them: "You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you.  Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servants; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slaves of all." (Mk 10:42-44)

So let us have them again: "to be great is to be servant, to be a leader is to be the slave of all!"  And so what do we make of this teaching?

First of all, we know that in His teaching and preaching ministry, our Lord Jesus Christ is constantly turning upside-down various norms in our culture or traditional way of living that flow from our broken and damaged human nature, because of our greed and selfishness.

For example, the message of the Gospel this Sunday is that Christian leaders must take a different approach from what is conventional. Because Jesus is teaching us that to be true leaders must view leadership as an opportunity to serve, to sacrifice and to do what is truly best for those under their authority. At the conclusion of the Gospel reading, Jesus states very clearly that He Himself came not to be served but to serve, and to offer His life for the salvation of all. Thus, there is no better proof of greatness, leadership, or love than to lay down one's life for the sale of one's friends.

In other words, greatness and leadership through service to others, especially the poor, neglected and helpless in our society is our guide in choosing our leaders, especially in public governance. For it is the epitome of good governance.

And so, the liturgical theme of "leadership through service" also blends well with our celebration of World Mission Sunday. We proclaim God's kingdom by sharing our faith and doing service to others.  

Let us then pray for our missionaries in the world: priests and religious and lay people who share the faith throughout the world, at the risk of their own lives sometimes or most of the time. May the Lord protect them from every harm and let them enjoy their rewards of apostleship here on earth and in the life to come. And let us pray that we, too, become missionaries ourselves by witnessing and practicing our faith in our every day life situations, wherever we may be. Amen.

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.

Ad Jesum per Mariam!