PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND

May 4, 2022

SERVANT LEADERSHIP

John’s version of the last supper is somewhat different from the accounts in the other three gospels.  He has no institution of the sacrament of the last supper.  In its place he has Jesus washing His disciple’s feet.

Everyone has gathered in the Upper Room.  Jesus notices that no one has taken the time to wash the feet of those who had gathered.  This chore was usually left to one of the servants.  Everyone was waiting for someone else to do it.  They wanted to be waited upon.  When Jesus sees what has happened he takes a towel and a basin and begins to do this simple act of hospitality.

After he has washed the disciples’ feet He said to them.  “Do you know what I have done to you?  You call me Teacher and Lord – and you are right, for that is what I am.  So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.  For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.  Very truly, I tell you servants are not greater than their master, nor are messengers greater than the one who sent them.” (John 13:12d-16)

Throughout His ministry Jesus emphasized the importance of servant leadership.    He reminds James and John of this when they are vying about who will sit at His right and left in the coming kingdom.  One is called to be a leader not for the sake of privilege or power, but to be a servant.  In Jesus’ case a servant who was willing to give His life for others.

One of the reasons for the challenging of the institutions of this country in the 1960’s was that the leaders were perceived as only being for power and self-advancement. (See my article last Wednesday.)  For the protesters, the captains of government and business had little interest in the common good.  They were more interested in the bottom line and maintaining power.

For more than forty years in Christian ministry I have been privileged to witness the election of public servants who were members of the congregations of which I have been a part.  I have found them conscientious, hardworking and interested in the common good.  They were marvelous examples of what it means to be a servant public servant.  I always made it a point of telling on a regular basis that I appreciated their willingness to serve.  Being a public official at the local level is not an easy job.  It is filled with many unrealistic expectations, rules and regulations and criticisms.  We should be thankful that there are good people who are willing to step forward and put up with all the guff.

Regularly we come in contact with persons who are exhibiting servant leadership.  Unfortunately, we fail to really notice them because they do not call attention to themselves.  They are concerned about us and our concerns.  We meet them in every area of our lives and they make our lives better.  Let us give thanks for servant leadership and let ud strive to exhibit it as much as possible in our own lives.  When everyone practices servant leadership everyone prospers.