In the 23rd chapter of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus offers a scathing critique of the leadership of the scribes and Pharisees of his time. The scribes and Pharisees are quick to point out people’s faults and quote laws but they are not so eager to help the people to carry their burdens. Certainly this is a very poignant topic in today’s Church and is a relevant reflection for the leaders of the Church at any given time in history. Often in conversations with my brother priests we have made the remark, “Who would want to be a Bishop in the Church today?” Invariably the answer always comes back, “Those who are.” It is true that there are those who are ambitious and who seek out advancement and positions of power and honor in the Church. They approach the priesthood as a career and they set a career path that will land them a prestigious position in the future. It is this type of thinking and planning that Jesus is warning his disciples about in today’s gospel. God preserve us from those leaders who seek out positions of leadership in order to be served rather than to serve. Self-serving behavior is dangerous for any type of community life. If we seek out positions of authority, fall in love with titles and honorific addresses, and love to be placed in privileged positions, we are falling into the trap of the Pharisees of Jesus’ day.

Recently the Church has been painfully reminded of the damage that self-serving leaders can cause to the Church and the mission of Jesus. When leaders begin to consider themselves above the people they serve they begin to fall into a sense of entitlement and privilege. It is easy from there to begin to feel as though one was above the common law applying to others. It is easy to begin to feel that one is owed something by the people they serve and they can easily begin to abuse their position of authority. This can result in good people doing terrible things and abusing not only their position but also the people that they are called to serve. We have seen in the Church how much damage this can cause to the mission of Christ and the Church. Our recent Popes have spent a lot of time apologizing for the errors of abusive leaders in the Church.

The prophet Malachi is warning these self-serving leaders in our first reading today. They are not leading the people in the way of God, a way of love, care and service, but are following their own way. Jesus also takes up this warning against the religious leaders of his time, the Pharisees. He points out their bad example and encourages us to follow their teaching of the scripture but not their example. In contrast to these bad examples, we have the example of St. Paul who was a beautiful example of humility and service to the people in Thessalonica.

Jesus is very clear in his teaching on leadership that the leadership within the Church must be one of service and humility. At the Last Supper, John in his gospel tells us the story of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. True priesthood begins with this attitude of service and humility. The leaders in the Church must follow the example of Christ in laying down their lives in love for the people they serve. This is the love of God that has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. When a priest serves, teaches and preaches the gospel, it is Christ at work in the priest who is serving his people. The people of God should expect this type of loving service from their priests and bishops. As Jesus tells his apostles, it is those who humble themselves who will be exalted by the Father in glory as was Jesus the Son.

The most poignant words in our scripture today is the phrase in the prophet Malachi, “Why then do we break faith with one another?” Leadership involves a covenant of love and trust. When we are placed in a position of leadership the people we serve have a right to place their faith and trust in us. For a community to thrive they must be able to have faith in their leaders. Whether this community is the Church or the domestic church of the family, we have to earn and keep the faith that people place in our leadership. There is nothing more painful than to have the faith and trust we place in our leaders betrayed by self-serving behavior.

Let us all pray for our leaders – the leaders of our nation, the leaders of our families and the leaders of our Church. It is truly God who has placed them in a position of leadership and who wishes to lead his people in love to the fullness of life through their sacrificial gift of self. Renewal within our Church and faith will begin with the renewal of our faith in one another to follow in the way of Christ Jesus.