Deuteronomy 18: 15-20
Mark 1: 21-28
Our readings this weekend pose questions regularly faced by communities of Christians: who speaks for God? And what does leadership in Christian community mean for us?
The passage from Deuteronomy describes God who, with deep love for the people of Israel, continually speaks to them through prophets; those God has sent to speak in God's name. Israel encountered a variety of people who claim the role of prophet. But who truly speaks for God, when so many claim to know God's will?
The Old Testament records how many kings, prophets, and religious authorities arise throughout the history of Israel, claiming to be God's chosen servants, and demanding loyalty and obedience on that basis. The Scriptures record the frequent failures of many of these figures, who led people astray, instead of fulfilling God's purposes.
We face this problem ourselves today. Our technology gives us access to many voices who claim (overtly or in coded language) to speak for God. How can we tell the "false prophets" from God's true prophets? Today's Gospel story might assist us.
The passage from the first chapter of Gospel of Mark speaks of events early in Jesus' ministry, when Jesus began to preach and to heal. His listeners "were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority". Jesus brought "a new teaching with authority", who can even command unclean spirits. They embraced Jesus as a true prophet.
Why did they see Jesus as having "authority", as God's true voice? Perhaps they saw in Jesus someone whose teachings displayed a profound knowledge of God. He is someone with a deep intimacy of God - in contrast to the scribes, who seemed to know how to use religious language, but lacked true knowledge of God. Perhaps they also saw Jesus, in his casting out an unclean spirit, as someone who radically trusted God to work through him. Jesus developed a relationship where he had a genuine authority with his followers.
Jesus' "fame spread everywhere". However, as we know, the story does not end here. As the Gospel of Mark continues, challenges arise from some Pharisees and scribes. Their attempts to discredit Jesus with the crowds may have had some effect. The Gospels indicate that at times, Jesus' preaching troubled many of his followers. He challenged their beliefs about God's graciousness - as not only for the Jewish people, but truly for all peoples. For some, initial enthusiasm with Jesus faded as they realized how that his message not only provided them profound assurance of God's love for them, but also a profound challenge to open their hearts to love others. It seemed that Jesus was eroding the very authority he had initially built up.
Jesus shows real leadership with his disciples. He acted not only within the authority relationship he developed with them, but also beyond his authority. In other words, he told them not so much what they wanted to hear, but what they needed to hear. Exercising leadership mobilizes people to identify the challenges they must understand, and also equips people to face these challenges effectively. As a leader, Jesus did not offer easy assurances such as false prophets often do, in order to ensure his popularity. He instead challenged and empowered them to move courageously toward a deeper faithfulness to God.
Questions to consider:
When we call for leadership from others, how do we allow them to challenge us, to take responsibility for ourselves, our community, and our world?
When we are called to exercise leadership, how do we help others to face their challenges?
Michael Prus is a member of Ascension Parish and works as a pastoral minister at St. Margaret Mary Church in Naperville.
