The gospel today is the fiercest critique of Jesus over the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees. He highlights their character of pride and selfishness, their love for outward displays of piety, desire for honor, and their struggle for titles and places of authority, against the humble service of authentic leaders. As such, Jesus warns his disciples to listen only to their teachings because of the offices they occupy, and not to emulate their actions. But the question is: Where then lies the integrity of their exalted office? Of what use is their teaching if they cannot practice it? How would they impart change in others? Are they servants of the Lord, the people or themselves?
The Moses Seats: The Scribes of our Time
The Scribes and Pharisees in our age and time can refer not only to religious leaders alone, but to everyone in a position of authority. These include parents, teachers, educators, managers, politicians, and every other office holder. They occupy the Moses’ seats.
Our present-day politicians often fall into the category of the scribes and Pharisees of our time. This is because they hold positions of authority that control a larger crowd than the pastors of souls. They are called and addressed as ‘honorable’ or ‘your excellencies’, but most of them are dishonorable and do not live up to expectations. They say one thing and do another, and manipulate the system. Some of them think more of elections and how to remain in power or within the corridors of power. It is even worse in developing nations, where politicians rig themselves into power to maintain their fame and relevance.
The Deeds of the Present-Day Scribes
The present-day scribes have the duty of no interest of the people but rather their office and the aura that go with them. They think about themselves and make policies that would favor them as they privatize the security structure of society for themselves. They create the social gap between themselves and the masses. They task the people and live on them. Jesus confirmed it when he said: ‘they tie up heavy burdens hard to bear and lay them on people’s shoulders but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger’ (Mt 23:4). That is exactly their stock-in-trade. The same can be said of some religious leaders who enjoy the wealth of the church without considering the sacrifices of the people in running the church institution.
That notwithstanding, most leaders engage in different abuses, corruption and cover-up. They neglect the people because they secured their leadership positions, sometimes through fraudulent means. They serve the interest of their ‘masters’ and would never speak out when something is wrong, but instead would devise ways of covering up the truth. Corruption seems to be at its highest level at different sectors of human endeavor, and morality is decaying and disappearing more than ever in our time. This is because our leaders pay lip service to duty, and we are where we are.
A Servant-Leader: The Way Forward
The way forward is amazingly simple. It is by entrusting positions of authority to humble servant-leaders who would be honest and lead after the footsteps of Christ who made a huge difference in his time. He not only transformed his disciples and followers, but the world. Humble servant-leaders are rare to find. Where you see them, they often face huge challenges and persecutions because of their transparency, honesty and their very rare virtue of humility which leads them. No wonder Christ said that ‘whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted’ (Mt 23: 12). Then, He adds: ‘the greatest among you shall be your servant’ (Mt 23:11). A servant-leader is the answer to our problem in the world and why can’t you and I be one?
Peace be with you!
