Liturgy
‘GOOD NEWS’ for 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time
“They do not practise what they preach.” (Matthew 23:1-12)
REFLECTION
This week’s gospel is a lesson on leadership. The gospel writer has Jesus offering a very strong criticism of the religious leadership of his day as exemplified by the scribes and Pharisees. He accuses them of not practising what they preach – a rather familiar criticism often levelled at politicians, teachers and church leaders in our own society today. When the criticism is used today it often implies that if the person fails to practise what they preach then what they have to say carries little weight. But rather than totally rejecting the scribes and Pharisees, Jesus cautions his listeners to take notice of what they have to say – as their teachings were always grounded in scripture and tradition – but not to follow their example of behaviour.
Image © Jenny Close,
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Throughout Matthew’s gospel we encounter criticisms of the scribes and Pharisees. This example is of the same nature: they were too caught up with rules and obligations and did not approach life with compassion and concern for the individual. The community for whom Matthew’s gospel was intended was struggling with being both Jewish and Christian. They were coming to realise that to be followers of Jesus’ way they needed to cast aside some of the attitudes and behaviours of their Jewish tradition. That applied particularly to the model of leadership that they had inherited from Jesus: a model of leadership through service, not power and authority. This gospel passage makes it very clear for that original community as well as ourselves that true leadership is provided through service to others and through humble action. Unlike the Pharisees of Jesus’ time, Christian leaders are called to do away with the trappings of power and prestige and, instead, be of service to those whom they would lead.
LIVING THE GOSPEL – CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP
The Christian model of leadership often flies in the face of societal concepts of leadership. Many of the models of leadership we witness in society focus on exerting power over others. People are praised for showing ‘strong’ leadership when they manipulate situations, bully less powerful people and bulldoze their way through others’ opinions. Whilst this model of leadership may have a certain effectiveness in the short term, there is certainly nothing ‘Christian’ about its operation and ultimately it forces a wedge between the leader and the led. Christian leadership focuses on empowering all parties and rather than power over others, it embraces power through and with others. ©Greg Sunter
Community Liturgy
Community Mass is celebrated every Friday morning at 8:00am in term time. Next Friday, 10 November, the liturgy will be prepared by Year 10 students. All Year 10 students, whether or not they are ‘leaders’, as well as their families are especially welcome! During the month of November, we continue the tradition of remembering in a special way our loved ones who sleep in Christ. As always, there is an open invitation to our celebration of the Eucharist and to the café afterwards, for those able to stay. Further queries about Community Mass:
lumley.mary-anne@johnxxiii.edu.au or 9383 0513.
When: Fridays in Term Time
Time: 8:00-8:30am
Where: College Chapel