Day: July 24, 2020

MATTHEW 20:20-28 Jesus is the Leading Figure of Servant Leadership

by Roger, posted in Gospel Reading

MATTHEW 20:20-28 GOSPEL READING AND REFLECTION ( JULY 25, 2020)

Then the mother of James and John came to Jesus with her sons, and she knelt down,  to ask a favor. Jesus said to her, “What do you want?” And she answered, “ Here,  you have my sons. Grants, that they may sit, one at your right hand and  one at your left, in your kingdom.” Jesus said to the brothers, “ You do  not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am about to drink? They answered, “ We can.” 

Jesus replied, “ You will indeed drink my cup;  but to sit at my right and at my left is not for me to grant. That will be for those, for whom my Father has prepared it.”

The other ten heard all this,  and were angry with the two brothers.

Then Jesus called them to Him and said, “You know that the rulers of nations behave like tyrants, and the powerful oppress them. It shall not be so among you: whoever wants to be great in your community, let him minister to the community. And if you want to be the first of all, make yourself the servant of all. Be like the Son of Man, who came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life to redeem many.” 

POINTS OF REFLECTION

While it is harder to set aside the disguise of personal interest in this life than the genuine motive of  a quality service to all ranging from the nameless to the famous and known personalities, this Bible reading reminded us to serve not just for promotion but rather for the satisfaction of those whom the services are intended for. 

Leadership is not tyranny. It is not oppressive. It is not being served but rather a servant of all. Leadership commences within oneself by guiding the whole being to do what is rightfully to be done. Leading a few is the next level of leadership where some people choose to follow not because they are forced to follow but because they have the same advocacy that is  to serve for the greater good.

Brothers and sisters, Jesus is an all out figure of a true leader. He employs servant leadership. His disciples were  chosen not because they are knowledgeable but because they are hard workers, they were taken  by Jesus from the shore  doing fishing the whole night without a single catch till daybreak. 

Finally Jesus is considered as the leading figure of leadership and his disciples are the leading figure of a true follower. 

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MATTHEW 13:18-23 The Field is The Heart of Man

by Roger, posted in Gospel Reading

MATTHEW 13:18-23 GOSPEL READING AND REFLECTION ( JULY 24, 2020)

Now listen to the parable of the sower. When a person hears  the message of the kingdom but does not take it seriously the devil comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed that fell along the foot-path. The seed fell on the rocky ground stands for the one who hears the word, and accepts it at once with joy. But such a person had no roots, and endures only for a while. No sooner is  he harassed or persecuted because of  the word, then he gives up. The seed that fell among the thistles is the one who hears the words; but then, the worries of this life and the love of money choke the word;  and it does not bear fruit. As for the seed that fell on the good soil, it is the one who hears the word and understands it; this seed bears fruit and produces a hundred. or sixty, or thirty times more.” 

 

POINTS  OF REFLECTION 

Human hearts do not have the same disposition when hearing the offer of salvation through Jesus Christ. In this Bible reading the heart of man is likened to a field from which the sower in the parable had sown the seeds.

The heart of man could be like a foot-path; it does not accommodate the word of the Lord seriously so that the devil can easily take it away by the tendencies of the worldly lures. The heart of man could be like a rocky ground; it hears the word and accepts it with joy but his faith does not endure within the challenge of time. The heart of man could be like a thistles ground: it hears the word but his faith is shaky and easily affected by the worries of life, love of material things and love of money. The heart of man could be like a ground in a good soil; it hears and understands the word, bears fruits and multiplies even up to more than  thirty  times.  This is represented by the person who has fully grown in faith and a bold witness of God’s presence. 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, now is the time for us to assess the kind of heart we have and be able to reconfigure it in such a way that this heart would become  a kind of heart fully grown in faith and stand as a bold witness of the Father in heaven. 

 

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