Servant Leadership!

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Jer 18:18-20; Mt 20:17-28

In today’s Gospel, Jesus talks about ‘servant leadership.’ 

What looks like an inherently contradictory term expresses the beauty of Jesus’ life and our discipleship. 

It is either an extended understanding of a servant or a reduced understanding of a leader. 

If it is service, it is voluntary; if it is leadership, it is not a privilege. 

In other words, it is ‘intentional love’ for what we hate (service) and ‘intentional hatred’ for what we love (leadership).

Why would we be concerned about this ‘contradictory’ concept? 

It is because Jesus himself was the ‘Suffering Messiah.’ 

In Jewish understanding, a Messiah would not suffer. Someone who suffers would not be the Messiah. 

But Jesus combined both and left us with an unparalleled model of discipleship.  

Even in the Gospel, the request from the mother of the sons of Zebedee comes only after Jesus foretells his passion and death. 

The disciples of Jesus understand that they are all ‘entitled’ to some privilege. 

Jesus approves of it and means that their privilege as his disciples is service and suffering.

When Jesus says, ‘It shall not be so among you,’ he wants us to discern how we serve and lead, imitating his model. 

If we are first, it is to serve. If we are last, it is to lead. 

Indeed, the Kingdom of God only favors a bottom-up vision and not a top-down model. 

Let us pray for God’s grace to discover our ‘privilege’ as disciples of Jesus. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar