01-06-24 Pemimpin yang Berjalan di Depan: Mengikuti Teladan Yesus

Saturday 8th week in ordinary time "Mk 11:27-33" And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, and they said to him, "By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?" These men had ‘authority issues’: Who did and who didn’t have the authority? They were considered the official ‘authorities’ of Israel, and yet people didn’t follow them. Jesus had more authority and more followers. None of the chief priests and the scribes and the elders had appointed Jesus as rabbi, yet people followed Jesus and listened to Him anyway. In a nutshell, these ‘authorities’ had no ‘authority’. They weren’t leaders, because no one followed them. A leader is someone you follow. And you follow someone who walks in front of you. Remember the reproach of Jesus: “They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them” (Mt 23:4). They were clever, but not holy: they had good words, but not good works. Jesus is different: He first ‘did’ and then ‘taught’ (Act 1:1). He never commanded anything He didn’t do himself. He never exacted from anyone what He had not exacted from Himself. He walked the path first, and we can now follow Him. He was a leader because ‘He walked the talk.’ When we try to bring people to God, we can’t hope to convince them with our words if they can’t also see our works. Think about St Peter, St John, St Andrew and all the other apostles that changed the world: People follow holiness, not cleverness. An atheist heard about the Curé of Ars, St John Mary Vianney, and went to see him and to listen to him - out of curiosity. He spent the day in Ars and came back home the following day converted and believing in God. Some sarcastic friends asked him: ‘What did the priest say to convince you?’ and he answered: -‘I didn’t speak to him... I just saw him!’ People follow examples, not sermons. My Mother, Queen of Apostles, intercede for me so that I may learn to ‘walk Jesus’ talk.’