The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to meditate on ways in which we can live more in the pattern of the servant leadership lived by Christ.
Leadership in Service
The reading from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah describes the Suffering Servant.
* [53:10–11] Reparation offering: the Hebrew term ’asham is used of a particular kind of sacrifice, one that is intended as compensation for that which is due because of guilt. See Lv 5:14–26 and note. Justify: the verb means “to be acquitted,” “declared innocent,” but since the servant bears “their iniquity,” an effective rather than simply legal action is suggested.1
Psalm 33 praises the Greatness and Goodness of God.
* [Psalm 33] A hymn in which the just are invited (Ps 33:1–3) to praise God, who by a mere word (Ps 33:4–5) created the three-tiered universe of the heavens, the cosmic waters, and the earth (Ps 33:6–9). Human words, in contrast, effect nothing (Ps 33:10–11). The greatness of human beings consists in God’s choosing them as a special people and their faithful response (Ps 33:12–22).2
The reading from the Letter to the Hebrews declares Jesus as the Great High Priest.
* [4:14–16] These verses, which return to the theme first sounded in Heb 2:16–3:1, serve as an introduction to the section that follows. The author here alone calls Jesus a great high priest (Heb 4:14), a designation used by Philo for the Logos; perhaps he does so in order to emphasize Jesus’ superiority over the Jewish high priest. He has been tested in every way, yet without sin (Heb 4:15); this indicates an acquaintance with the tradition of Jesus’ temptations, not only at the beginning (as in Mk 1:13) but throughout his public life (cf. Lk 22:28). Although the reign of the exalted Jesus is a theme that occurs elsewhere in Hebrews, and Jesus’ throne is mentioned in Heb 1:8, the throne of grace (Heb 4:16) refers to the throne of God. The similarity of Heb 4:16 to Heb 10:19–22 indicates that the author is thinking of our confident access to God, made possible by the priestly work of Jesus3.
The Gospel of Mark describes the request of James and John and how Jesus teaches about their ambition.
* [10:42–45] Whatever authority is to be exercised by the disciples must, like that of Jesus, be rendered as service to others (Mk 10:45) rather than for personal aggrandizement (Mk 10:42–44). The service of Jesus is his passion and death for the sins of the human race (Mk 10:45); cf. Mk 14:24; Is 53:11–12; Mt 26:28; Lk 22:19–20.4
Eileen Burke-Sullivan (from 2018) comments that Pope Francis tells us that Jesus is all about mercy. We could even say Kyrie IS Mercy – and Francis in so many ways has tried to help us understand what it means when we say Jesus is Mercy. Francis talks about trying to understand mercy, not as a noun, an “it”, but as a gerund form of a verb: Jesus encounters us and He “mercifies” us – that is, he both transforms us in his mercy and makes us effective as mercy for others.
Every baptized Christian has been called to enter the servant leadership of Jesus. We are gifted with the mercy of God’s Spirit to be merciful in our exercise of this “priestly” leadership. Such ability to respond (responsibility) is given in the priesthood of baptism but must be exercised constantly within the community and for the world. The servant leader knows that Truth – another name for God – can never be separated from Mercy. All the titles of God are intended to speak of the nature of God, they are limited only by our understanding of their meaning. God’s mercy is, and is not, like our mercy; God’s truth or justice or love both is and is not like the various experiences of humans that these words evoke. Truth that is spoken without mercy is simply NOT truth – because nothing describes God or God’s activities that are not entirely mercy.5
Don Schwager quotes “Not to be served but to serve,” by John Chrysostom (344-407 AD).
"[Jesus] says, 'The Son of man came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.' It is as if he were saying, 'I willed not even to stop at death but even in death gave my life as a ransom. For whom? For enemies. For you. If you are abused, my life is given for you. It is for you. Me for you.' So you need not be too picky if you suffer the loss of your honor. No matter how much it is lowered, you will not be descending as far as your Lord descended. And yet the deep descent of one has become the ascent of all. His glory shines forth from these very depths. For before he was made man, he was known among the angels only. But after he was made man and was crucified, so far from lessening that glory, he acquired further glory besides, even that from his personal knowledge of the world." "So fear not then, as though your honor were put down. Rather, be ready to abase yourself. For in this way your glory is exalted even more, and in this way it becomes greater. This is the door of the kingdom. Let us not then go the opposite way. Let us not war against ourselves. For if we desire to appear great, we shall not be great but even the most dishonored of all. Do you see how everywhere Jesus encourages them by turning things upside down? He gives them what they desire but in ways they did not expect. (excerpt from THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 65.4.25)6
The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 10:35-45 comments that Jesus wanted James and John—and all his followers—to understand that his glory was at its height when he emptied himself. His followers would be counted as great to the extent that they imitated his attitude, humbling themselves and becoming the servants of all (10:43-44).
As you come to Mass today, know that the glorious Lord, the Lamb of God, is offering himself to you once again in the sacrifice of the Eucharist. There is glory in this sacrifice, in his life poured out for you. Let it inspire you to go and pour yourself out for others. “Lord, let me see your glory today!”7
Friar Jude Winkler discusses the mysterious figure in Isaiah, the Suffering Servant, who would suffer for the sins of the people. This was not a popular idea in Hebrew theology. The Letter to the Hebrews compares Jesus' priesthood to that of figures in the Hebrew Testament. Friar Jude reminds us that following Jesus will have us focus on what we can give.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, notes that this week’s meditations highlight how we lost the essence of Jesus’ message when the church aligned with the empire—and the painful results that followed. Lay theologian and educator Verna Dozier (1917–2006) highlights some of the significant shifts that took place when Christianity became an imperial religion.
It is hard for us to understand what happened to the people of God under Constantine. Surely the church got a breathing space from persecution. . . . Constantine dreamed of restoring the ancient glory of the empire, and he believed that could be best achieved through Christianity. Constantine himself was not changed; the church was. It became the imperial church. Christian worship began to be influenced by imperial protocol. Incense, the sign of respect for the emperor, began to appear in Christian churches. Ministers began dressing in more luxurious garments, processions and choirs developed, and eventually the congregation came to have a less active role in the worship.8
Being the servant of all is a response to Jesus that orients our attitudes toward mercy and selflessness.
References
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