By Colleen O’Sullivan
Because though you were ministers of his kingdom, you
judged not rightly, and did not keep the law, nor walk according to the will of
God, Terribly and swiftly shall he come against you, because judgment is stern
for the exalted – For the lowly may be pardoned out of mercy but the mighty shall
be mightily put to the test. For the
Lord of all shows no partiality, nor does he fear greatness, Because he himself
made the great as well as the small, and he provides for all alike; but for
those in power a rigorous scrutiny impends. (Wisdom 6:4-8)
(The ten lepers) stood at a distance from (Jesus) and
raised their voice, saying, “Jesus, Master!
Have pity on us!” And when he saw
them, he said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” As they were going they were cleansed. (Luke 17: 12b-14)
Piety
Have among yourselves the same attitude that is
also yours in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not
regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form
of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, He humbled
himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:5-8)
Study
When
I began my Fourth Day, I started receiving Our
Banner, the Cursillo newsletter for our diocese. Every once in awhile I would read about an
upcoming School of Leaders meeting. I
never thought much about it; I assumed there was some upper crust group in
Cursillo for whom this was intended. I
was quite surprised when, a couple of years later, someone in my group reunion
told me that I had it all wrong, that all Cursillistas are considered leaders
and those meetings are for all of us.
Today’s
first reading, from the Book of Wisdom, is addressed to kings and rulers, but
anyone in a leadership position would do well to heed the author’s words. First of all, the writer cautions us not to
seek power or a position of leadership for its own sake. The only true power in the world comes from
God and the most any of us can be is a servant of God. The author goes on to caution us against
abusing our power and warns us that the more leadership responsibility we are
given, the more God will expect from us.
Finally, the writer says the best thing any leader can do is seek the
precious gift of wisdom.
Wisdom
shows us that true leadership is servant leadership. We are called to serve rather than to be
served. Jesus, the Son of God, revealed
himself as a servant king. In today’s
Gospel reading, he didn’t shun the ten lepers crying out to him, as most other
people would have done. He called them over
and healed them. Jesus, the mightiest
person ever to walk on this earth, used his power not for his own gain but to
forgive sinners, to help the poor, to heal the sick and to comfort the
forgotten.
In
the few months since his election, Pope Francis has shown himself to be a
servant leader. In images beamed round
the world, we have seen him washing the feet of those in a youth detention
center on Holy Thursday, reaching out to disabled children, celebrating Mass at
Lampedusa in memory of the many would-be immigrants who have died trying to
find a home, and embracing a man disfigured by disease.
Action
As
a Cursillista, what type of leader are you?
How are you using the responsibility God has entrusted to you to serve
others?
For
your calendar, the next Northern Virginia School of Leaders is scheduled for
January 25, 2014. The discussion will be
on “Five Stages of Conversion” from Forming
Intentional Disciples by Sherry A. Weddell.
You can purchase the book at www.abebooks.com
or www.amazon.com.
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