I read a story about a father who told his three children when he sent them to college, “I want to provide you with the best education I can afford, and you don’t owe me anything for that. However, I do want you to appreciate my sacrifice. So as a token, I want each of you to put $1,000 into my coffin when I die.”
His kids went on to become a doctor, a financial planner, and an entrepreneur. When their father died, the three remembered his wish. First, the doctor put ten 100-dollar bills into the coffin. The financial planner also put $1,000 in. Finally, the entrepreneur took out his checkbook, wrote a check for $3,000, put it into his father’s coffin, and took the $2,000 in cash. Now some may say, “that's entrepreneurship.” Not so his siblings. They got their cash back and then wrote checks too.
The word of God today takes us back to the late 7th / early 6th century before Jesus, to a so-called prophet of doom and gloom named Jeremiah. Jeremiah lived during a very unstable and chaotic period in the history of Ancient Israel. The Hebrews lost everything they thought would endure forever: Babylonia conquered their kingdom, abolished their monarchy, set fire to the temple in their capital city of Jerusalem and executed or deported many Hebrews. Here Jeremiah blames the kings of Ancient Israel for this catastrophe. The kings, he said, were bad shepherds; they lacked moral character; and repeatedly broke God’s covenant. These kings focused only on enriching themselves at the expense of others.
Jeremiah then looks beyond these bad kings to a future shepherd-king or leader who will do the right thing for his people. Jeremiah may be asking whether we do our best to stand up for what is right.
Paul in his letter to the Christian community at Ephesus in Turkey speaks about the blessings God has bestowed upon us through Jesus Christ: friendship with God, peace, and reconciliation: virtues so many regions around the world, especially in the Middle East, Africa and Central America, desperately cry out for today.
Paul may be asking whether we nurture our friendship with God through regular prayer. Whether we try to be peacemakers and reconcilers in our relationships with one another.
The Gospel according to Mark portrays Jesus as the compassionate good shepherd or leader who guides us toward our true purpose: eternal life beyond this earthly life. But unfortunately many people, Jesus laments, are wandering about aimlessly with little sense of purpose. Jesus says they are like sheep without a shepherd.
The theme of leadership—or the lack thereof—weaves in and out of the Jeremiah and Mark passages. In our political arena today, we may be wondering where are the Roosevelts, the Lincolns, the Washingtons of yesteryear?
And yes, what is leadership? There is an interesting book titled “Learning to Lead.” The authors describe “what makes a leader.” Leaders possess at least five ingredients. They communicate purpose in a way that galvanize people. They generate trust because they are truth tellers. They have a clear vision of the future and get results. Yes, leaders have a “can do” attitude about the challenges of life. Think, for example, of the 12 children and their soccer coach in the Thailand cave. The scuba divers who rescued them were leaders. They had a “can do” attitude, rose to the challenge and shepherded the 12 children with their coach out of the cave. But above all, leadership involves moral character, an ethical sense of what's right and and what's wrong. In the final analysis, leadership is all about integrity. And that's what many kings of ancient Israel lacked.
On a smaller scale, we too are leaders, in our families, in our workplaces, in our community. And so, the question may be: how do we cope with the challenges of life? Here's some advice.
First, talk to God about the challenges or problems we face as we would with a friend. Bring them to God in prayer.
Second, trust that God is ultimately in control. Faith means trusting in God's unconditional love for us. “Faith,” the 20th century British author C.S. Lewis wrote, “is the art of holding on to things...once accepted, in spite of our changing moods.” Yes, it's hard to trust in God when things seem to be going wrong. But think, for example, about St. Paul, an icon of what it means to be a leader. Paul, you will remember, was at one time locked away, imprisoned, apparently unable to do what he was called to do, i. e., proclaim the “good news.” Jesus Christ lives. And because he lives, God abides in us and we abide in God--forever.
For Paul, in the midst of all the challenges he faced, it must have been very difficult to see what good might possibly come out of all the obstacles he encountered as he faced a trial on false charges. Read all about it in Acts, chapters 24-26. Yet, as Paul wrote, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” (Romans 8:28)
Paul's imprisonment resulted in him being sent to Rome where he preached the gospel, precisely what he wanted to do in the first place. Two thousand years later, vast numbers of people, undergoing inescapable hardships, have been inspired by Paul's story about how good can come out of evil.
You and I may never know, in this life, how God uses us to achieve his purposes. Perhaps our prayer should be: Lord, thank you that you are with us. Thank you that through all of these problems, challenges and hassles of life, you work for the good of those who love you.
Yes, take every opportunity that God gives us to never give up on doing the right thing. Whatever challenges we’re facing, keep praying, keep trusting in God, keep looking for opportunities to serve God and never, ever give up. Pray, as we face challenges, that God will give us the grace to persevere and carry through on doing the right thing.
All of us have the potential to do great things for God. Begin with ordinary things. Pray that the word of God will inspire us to see Jesus more clearly in our lives, to love him more dearly and to follow him more nearly. And with Jesus as our guide, our leader, our shepherd, we will indeed be leaders with purpose and vision, who generate trust and achieve results, men and women of moral character like Jesus, our good shepherd, in today's Gospel.
