Leadership lessons

The Gospel of this 11th Sunday per annum, together with the passage from Ex 19:2-6a, offer us some interesting ideas for what we could define as leadership within the Church. We will not do an analysis of the texts but a more general discourse. If we go to the Apostle Paul, leadership is a gift of Christ ascended into heaven (cf. Eph 4:11-13). We are therefore in the order of divine gratuity and the paschal mystery. But what is the goal of leadership? Building the Community Body, the Church. But how? Promoting various charisms. Be careful though. The function of leadership is not only to favor the harmonization of the various gifts for the proper functioning of the Body, but to build relationships through charisms. Let’s explain better. Charisms are not harmonized only with a view to greater efficiency (also), but above all to set up and live more human and humanizing (and therefore more Christian) relationships. And this within the ecclesial structure and then towards the world. All this, always according to the suggestions of Eph 4, in view of communion, unity and peace. The model of reference is Jesus of Nazareth, who in the Fourth Gospel defines himself as the Good Shepherd: «I am the good shepherd» (Jn 10:11). However, the adjective “good” (kalós) does not refer to its goodness (in this case the Fourth Gospel would have used agathos, cf. Jn 7:12) but to its uniqueness or, if we like, to its suitability. In a word, Jesus is the ideal Shepherd, the true one, the model to look up to. He who had been prophesied by Ezekiel (Ez 34:23), sung in the Psalter (Ps 23), glimpsed in Moses, now has his perfect and happy fulfillment in Jesus. Finally, Matthew makes us attentive to what has always inspired the Master in his pastoral action: compassion (cf. Mt 9:36); yes, compassion towards people who are tired and disbanded by the abandonment and indifference of religious leaders. Christ’s leadership therefore starts from the heart, from the will to share with him, and associates the Twelve with this after having given them all power. Today Christ no longer has hands or feet… as Mario Pomilio wrote, but he has our hands, our feet… so that in even the small and humble gesture towards the brother or sister the tenderness of the Father shines forth.

Commentary by b. Sandro Carotta, osb
Abbazia di Santa Maria – Praglia (Italy)

Translation by f. Mark Hargreaves,
Prinknash Abbey