29th Sunday of the Year The Best Qualities of a Slave
When Jesus puts forward the slave as the model for leadership, for authority, for his followers, we need to pause and ask ourselves just what it was about such a position that he saw as attractive for a person in a position of authority. Slaves were at the bottom of the pecking order of society. No one bothered about their presence, no one put on a face to their slaves so slaves saw people as they really were. They had no influence, no power, except the power and influence of persuasion. They could not force their masters to obey them but they could give advice…and being in the powerless position they had to know the tactful way to give advice. When we look at Jesus’ life we see these qualities in his style of leadership. When the scriptures say he taught the people with ‘authority’ it means that his teaching had a moral force, the people felt Jesus knew what he was talking about. They could accept his teaching because it rang true to their hearts and minds. But when people rejected his teaching, Jesus did not force them to return, or even chase after them, trying to persuade them to listen again. He taught and if people chose to walk away, to ignore him, he let them be. He accepted their autonomy. In this he exercised as much power as a slave. Throughout most of its history, the Church has had the ability to use political power to enforce its teachings. But now in modern democratic societies, that power is curtailed. And this is a blessing. No longer can we rely on coercive influences to make people do the right thing. For us, this is a challenge. In preaching the Gospel, we have to discover that inner truth and those persuasive words that can woo people to the beauty of being a follower of Christ
Sr Kym Harris OSB |