What do we need
from our leaders?
When he witnesses
injustice and poor governance, the prophet Jeremiah calls out the leaders of
his time, shepherds who mislead and
scatter the flocks, incompetent rulers who fail to govern wisely or care for
the people of Israel. But through
Jeremiah, God promises to provide a new leader for his people: Behold,
the days are coming when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David, God
says. And the most important
characteristic of this leader? He shall do what is just and right in the
land. Like the good shepherd of
Psalm 23, the leader God provides will show loving care for his flock: in
verdant pastures he gives me repose; he refreshes my soul. The good shepherd gives from the heart,
grounded in goodness and kindness,
offering protection and strength to his flock, so that they need fear no evil.
God’s promise will
of course be fulfilled in the person of Jesus, our good shepherd, who, though
he & his apostles are weary and in need of rest themselves, responds to the needs of the people with compassion. Mark’s Gospel tells us that Jesus’ heart is moved with pity for them, these
sheep without a shepherd, the vast flock he adopts as his own
throughout his ministry in Galilee.
Through his death on the cross, Jesus becomes the source of all peace, reconciling the people, Jews and
Gentiles alike, with each other and with
God, as Paul tells the Ephesians, putting
enmity to death, eradicating division, that hate might end and all might be
at peace.
It is this unity
of purpose, born of love and concern for other, that Jesus embodies and that
our own leaders – political, spiritual, etc. – are called to mirror; he is a compassionate companion on our journey, able to lift us out of all fear, giving us confidence that he will be with us always. Jesus is a model we, like our leaders, might do well to emulate.
Image source: www.wordle.net
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