Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B

Grime Over Glory (or, Leading on Your Knees)

When I was twenty or twenty-one, a good friend’s younger brother asked me to be his confirmation sponsor. On the night of his confirmation we all gathered together in the Church, candidates, sponsors, family and friends. Everyone but the bishop.

No-one knew where he was, and mobile phones still weren’t a thing, so no-one knew how to find him. A call to his house told us that he’d left on time. And as it should have been a twenty minute drive, even on a wet night like this, we started to worry that something might have happened to him.

Almost half an hour after Mass was due to have started, the Bishop walked into the sacristy, soaking wet and with hands covered in grime. Could he have a place to wash his hands and run a towel over his head, he asked. Then he’d be ready to go.

It turned out that, on his way, the Bishop had stopped by the side of the road, where a mother with three children in the car was stranded with a flat tire. He’d gotten out, changed the tire in the pouring rain, and made sure that they were safely on their way before he set off on his.

It would be another twenty years before Pope Francis would call on the clergy to live close to the needs of the people, to be shepherds that smell like their sheep. But on this night, we were blessed to experience the witness of a bedraggled servant leader, if one that smelt more of grease than sheep.

In this Sunday’s Gospel we hear the story of James and John, two of the first disciples Jesus called, asking for places of honour at His side. With high hopes for this new kingdom that Jesus spoke of, they were keen to share in the glory.

Jesus doesn’t immediately rebuff them, but he does challenge their expectations. Leadership is not about power and privilege, He tells them, it is a ministry of service.

For those have been blessed with strength, to use it to raise up the weak.

For those that speak with authority to raise up their voice for those who cannot.

For those in positions of power to empower others.

It's an equally important message to remember when we have the opportunity to select our leaders as well. When the time comes to cast our vote, have those that are seeking to lead us used their strength, their profile, their voice to build up others, or to tear down their opponents? To sling mud, or kneel down in it and change a tire or two.

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