Fraternity-Testvériség, 1984 (62. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
1984-10-01 / 4. szám
FRATERNITY Page 3 A PLEA FOR SERVANT LEADERSHIP Opening Worship Service at the Thirty-Second Convention of the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America, Ligonier, Pennsylvania, September 17, 1984 Text: “Jesus called the disciples to him and said: You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave; even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25-28.) As I try to detect the atmosphere of this Convention, the unforgettable words of the modern Hungarian rock opera, “Stephen the King” come to my mind. Do you remember? Someone has to redeem the world, O tell me whom would you choose? Someone has to break the chains, O tell me who is your choice? Someone has to relinquish his position, O tell me whom would you elect? Help! Help! Help! The selection is hard! O help, the choice is so difficult! Because choosing is always so difficult, I would like to plead with you for a seemingly contradictory leadership, servant leadership which is possible for us in Jesus Christ, and call your attention to its two fold implication: the servant leader and the servant community. The whole quest starts with a prayer. The mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus and requested: “Command, that these two sons of mine may sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom” (v. 21). Have you ever wondered why this woman approached Jesus with such a request? Perhaps we come closer to the secret if we know that this woman was Salome, the sister of the Virgin Mary, therefore the Lord’s aunt (Mt. 27:56, Mk. 15:40, Jn. 19:25). First Jesus favored her sons with Peter (Mk. 5:27, 9:2), but at Cesa- rea Philippi He seemed to single Peter out to be the Deputy Messiah (Mt. 16:18-19), and that caused some consternation in her heart. So she came to remind Jesus of family interest, kinship obligation, a little favoritism within the clan ... Mark reports that not the mother, but James and John themselves asked the favor (10:35); no wonder they were called “the sons of thunder” (Mk. 3:17) — in their wild ambition they were constantly making noise, newer disturbances, empty detonations; not too much light, but plenty noisy threats and rainless thunderings... The incident reveals that the other disciples were not much better. “When the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers,” — we read (v. 24). Their feeling was not purely a moral disapproval of such self-promotion, but they were angry, because they were afraid of being maneuvered out of something they coveted for themselves. The power struggle deepened within the community: the “pro-Peter” block against the “anti- Peter” click. And the tragedy of this struggle lied in the fact that it was based on a total misunderstanding of Jesus and his kingdom. They believed that He had power to establish the Messianic Kingdom, but their concept of the Kingdom was totally earthly: He would triumph over his foes, domestic and foreign, and would establish an empire with ranks and thrones: one would sit on his right as next in power, a Deputy Messiah; another on his left as third in power. (Or perhaps the two can be combined into a new office!) Yes, this was the heart of their prayer: an honest and earnest, but totally blind and ignorant request! When this dispute first threatened the community of the disciples — for it has a long history among the disciples whether in church or Federation — Jesus pointed to a little child for an elementary lesson: “You debate rank and precedence in the kingdom? With such an attitude you are not even in it! Only reversing the course and embracing humility can you hope even to enter it” (Mt. 18:1-4). Here, too, Jesus first argues with mother and sons: “Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” — “We are able!” (Not knowing what they were saying.) But then when He sees that the whole community is contaminated with undue optimism and false pride, He called all of them to himself and gave them a lesson in Christian greatness: servant leadership. He does not quench the desire to be great; He only points the wrong way of Christian greatness and exemplifies the right way in Himself.
