The Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying,
"The scribes and the Pharisees
have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example.
For they preach but they do not practice."
—Matthew 22:40
On October 28, the first session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops ended with a brief speech by Pope Francis. Certainly, “the Synod” as it has come to be known, has been the most followed Church event (outside of the election of a pope) since the Second Vatican Council. This is, in part, because of the involvement of so many individuals from all parts of the world who took part in local listening sessions in 2021 and 2022.
In “A Synodal Church in Mission,” the synthesis report issued on the final day of the first session, the members of the Synod Assembly shared the following reflection:
“The sacraments of Christian initiation confer on all the disciples of Jesus the responsibility for the mission of the Church. Laymen and laywomen, those in consecrated life, and ordained ministers have equal dignity. They have received different charisms and vocations and exercise different roles and functions, but all are called and nourished by the Holy Spirit to form one body in Christ (1 Corinthians 4-31). They are all disciples, all missionaries, in the reciprocal vitality of local communities who experience the delightful and comforting joy of evangelizing… Each Christian is a mission on this earth”—Section 8.b
This important paragraph brings together the renewed vision of the baptismal call and commitment shared by all Christians that was highlighted in the Second Vatican Council’s Lumen Gentium (section IV) and other post-conciliar documents (such as Christefidelis Laici from Saint John Paul II and Evangelii Gaudium from Pope Francis).
As we consider the Readings for this Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, we would do well to keep this idea of baptismal co-responsibility and common mission in mind. If we don’t, we risk missing something essential within these texts, especially since they seem to only be speaking about and to those who have a certain kind of religious authority.
When we consider life in our parish and religious communities today, we immediately recognize that authority and administration are not limited to the clergy. Rather, at every level of the Church (including, most recently, in various dicasteries of the Holy See), we see lay women and men working alongside the ordained to help further mission of the Church. Pastoral associates, school principals, liturgical leaders, directors of religious education, youth ministers, heads of parish committees, and members of pastoral and finance councils are just a few examples of this reality.
And so, we find ourselves being presented with two very important questions this Sunday:
What kind of leaders are they? and
What kind of leader am I?
With this in mind, we should hear Jesus’ condemnation of certain religious leaders—along with Malachi’s condemnation of the priests in the First Reading—as a warning for those of us who practice leadership on any level. Because, just like those leaders called out by Jesus and Malachi, we also have a special kind of covenantal relationship with those whom we are called to serve. This is why the questions mentioned above become so important. As Sister Diane Bergan reflects in Preaching the New Lectionary:
We can become satisfied with externals, with buildings completed, lessons taught, or liturgies performed; we can aspire to places of honor and invitations to events where we can associate with important people; we can look for recognition and praise. Even worse than these are signs of vanity, we can use our positions of trust to exploit others, whether their resources, their emotions, or their physical persons. Unfortunately all this can be done under the guise of “what is best for the community.”
When we look at Jesus, we discover a mode of leadership which is faithful to the essential meaning of authority: It is a way of leading that “authors life.”
We get a fuller sense of what this means when we consider the beautiful image a nursing mother that Saint Paul uses in the Second Reading (taken from the First Letter to the Thessalonians). This is a mother both gives and sustains life, which is the real goal of spiritual leadership. This kind of leadership, if it is authentic, must be grounded in and flow from the love we are called to have for one another. And, like a mother’s love, it is both strong and gentle: strong in commitment to the Gospel, but gentle in consideration of others. As Bergant also reflects: “Those who exercise leadership in this way will fashion a community where life is fostered, not stifled; where talents serve all members; where the talents of all the members are invited to serve. Such a community will not only nurture its members, it will itself be the author of life in the world.”
In looking to Jesus, we find this strong and gentle mode of leadership—this way of authoring life—in every aspect of his life and mission. As Pope Benedict XVI observed in a 2011 Angelus Address:
The Lord Jesus presented himself to the world as a servant, completely stripping himself and lowering himself to give on the Cross the most eloquent lesson of humility and love. HIs example gives rise to a proposal of life: “He who is greatest among you shall be your servant” (Mt 23:11).
As you consider the ways that you live out your baptismal commitment within your faith community, allow the Readings proclaimed this Sunday to serve as an examination of conscience, particularly as you reflect on the ways you are invited to lead and serve.
Almighty and merciful God,
by whose gift your faithful offer you
right and praiseworthy service,
grant, we pray,
that we may hasten without stumbling
to receive the things you have promised.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
-Collect for the Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time
