Text
Luke 22:24-26
24 A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. 25 Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. 26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.
Reflection
Today is the Monday in Holy Week and this is the busiest week in the Christian calendar as we journey with our Lord Jesus towards His final moments to the Calvary to redeem us. Many churches have a packed week with daily prayers and services till Easter Sunday. In today’s text, Jesus is having the last supper with his disciples and while there are at the table a debate about who is greatest among themselves arose. Probably this debate was stirred up by Jesus’ announcement about his imminent departure in the hands of the enemies. In the minds of the apostles a succession debate was looming and Jesus had not openly defined hierarch among them. This must have worried the apostles because hierarch is necessary for good organizational structure. This became a perfect opportunity for Jesus to teach them about a godly leadership model which is servanthood leadership. He had to contrast how leadership is understood by the secular world and how it should be perceived by God fearing people. In the world leaders are bosses who are served by their subordinates while they issue out instructions and directives. However, for Jesus a leader should be the one who serves people while those who under him/her learn from him/her. We are in a world where people fight for leadership positions not because they want to serve but they are interested in packages or benefits they receive from those positions. Servanthood leadership comes with humility as we will see later with Jesus in the Gospel of John who wash the feet of his apostles as sign of humility and serving. As we journey in this Holy Week path let us pray for the gift of humility and self-sacrifice.
Collect
Almighty and everlasting God,
who in your tender love towards the human race
sent your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ
to take upon him our flesh
and to suffer death upon the cross:
grant that we may follow the example of his patience and humility,
and also be made partakers of his resurrection;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
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