Last / First

Today's readings: Psalms 5; 145, Isaiah 57:14-21,  Galatians 6:11-18, Mark 9:30-41

If you’ve been on a job interview in the last fifteen years or so, there’s a good chance you’ve been asked: “Where do you see yourself five years from now?” Potential employers ask this question hoping to determine how well the position fits with your goals and motivation. Imagine you are applying for the position of president of a Fortune 500 company, then imagine answering this question with: “I’m hoping to be in an entry-level position in the mail room by then.”

That would be a pretty crazy answer – unless you were interviewing for the position of disciple. Jesus had some fairly unorthodox recruiting techniques (“Hey, Peter and Andrew! Quit your jobs and follow me!”) so it’s no surprise his career advice was unconventional as well. When the disciples were arguing about which of them was the greatest, Jesus told them: “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all” (Mk 9:35). When following Jesus, success means service.

This doesn’t mean we should suppress or hide our own gifts and contributions, or that we can’t be leaders. To the contrary, we should fully use all the talents at our disposal to the glory of God. We can even apply for that CEO position, as long as in all things we are serving as Christ commanded. No matter how successful the world tells us we might be, God’s criteria for success include how welcoming we are to children (v 37) or whether we give a thirsty person a cup of water (v 41). We can serve from a penthouse or a cardboard box, but we must serve.

Servant leadership costs us. Sometimes that cost may be social standing and higher earnings, other times it may be our safety. Paul bore the marks of servant leadership on his body in the form of scars from beatings he received for spreading the gospel (Gal 6:17). We don’t aspire to these hardships or offer them as proof of our superior humility , but if necessary, we modestly accept them. They prepare us for a career of Christ-like leadership. If someone asks us where we want to be in five years, are we ready to say “last of all?”

Evening readings: Psalms 82, 29

Servant Leaders

Today's readings: Psalms 46 or 47; 149; Isaiah 65:13-16; Revelation 3:7-13; John 6:15-27

What would you do if the public wanted to crown you king or queen? Would you embrace it? Would you run away? Jesus chose the latter. After he fed thousands of people with just a few loaves and fishes, they wanted to make him king – by force if necessary. He escaped to the mountain to be alone.

When God told Isaiah he was to be a prophet, Isaiah resisted. He declared to God all the ways he felt unworthy of being God’s voice. Many (most?) of the prophets chronicled in the Bible resisted God’s call. As far back as Moses, who blamed his speech impediment and tried to push the job off on his brother Aaron – the people God has chosen to lead have shown reluctance.

When God knocks on the door, even to tell us we are fit to lead, we should be a little hesitant, maybe even fearful. The call is rarely easy. In his wisdom, God does not tend to choose leaders who are eager to embrace authority and power. Contrast this to our present-day system of secular leadership, where candidates spend millions of dollars telling you why they are unquestionably qualified for leadership, and their opponents barely deserve to participate in civil society. And religious leaders who seek power? We should always keep a critical eye on them.

Of course there are differences between people who seek power, and people who rise naturally to positions of leadership. For starters, the latter is much less common. The ability to acquire power is nothing like the ability to wield it wisely and justly. In hierarchical organizations, someone has to be at the top. The person who is the most eager, or eloquent, or assertive is not necessarily the best choice. The true sign of faithful leaders is a desire to serve not a term of office but the people who depend on them.

In God’s kingdom the last are first and the first are last. A true leader does not fear other leaders, but encourages them. A true leader does not control subjects, but empowers people. When we are called to leadership -  by God, people, or circumstance  - let us consider it humbly and prayerfully. When God calls us to lead, he calls us to serve.

Evening Psalms 27; 93 or 114