St Mary's

‘I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full’, is a resounding message of leadership, of being fully committed to the sharing of oneself with others, to be non-egotistical or not to consider yourself to be beyond others.

The shepherd, as the leader of the flock, knows the way to enter the sheepfold, an enclosure or shelter; knows the sheep by name and the sheep know and are responsive to the shepherd; they take no notice of others who may purport to be their shepherd. Authentic leadership comes from within, as exemplified by this story.

Many people in designated roles of leadership have an imposed role of leadership; one that is often contentious to a leadership that comes from within. Leadership that comes from within has a connectedness to those being served.

Leadership relates specifically to a context; yesterday’s leader is not today’s leader, today’s leader is not necessarily tomorrow’s leader; leadership that comes about freely is important for the wellbeing of a community.

Leadership is not about betterment of one person over others but about the betterment of a community due to the ability of one. The context in which leadership occurs is important as is the ability for a leader to realize and acknowledge that their ability to lead does not apply to all contexts. Shared leadership is important to the well being of any group and as such democracy aspires to rightful leadership.

Every person here is a leader… but not all at once! Too many leaders can become very misleading! However by allowing leadership to come about according to its context has a benefit far greater than that of ‘buying’ into leadership. We are ‘buying’ into leadership when it is imposed. To allow leadership to happen outside of a context, without current considerations and without consensus, can be a very conditional style of leadership. Political leaderships are often bought; the back pocket or handbag being used to gain support; personal gratification over common good.

This is the fourth Sunday of Easter is a time in which we have considered ‘wilderness within’. Wilderness in Christian texts implies a time of uncertainty, unrest and soul searching; Jesus had such a time, a period of 40 days and 40 nights prior to his return to leadership. Jesus sought this wilderness. However to move away from a known environment is a form of wilderness. The story of ‘The Hut” considers transition; from known to unknown, certainty to uncertainty, complacency to that of challenging places; a choice of standing still or of taking a step; a step into the unknown.

This year’s Lenten/Easter expression began on the other side as ashen marks signifying the beginning of Lent, then came homily reflections written on yellow paper slips, sprinklings of coloured desert sands, the placement of palm fronds and ‘Wilderness’ writings from members of this community and then on this side there is ‘nothing’, and ‘everything’! A challenging place!

When unfolding the Lent/Easter panels that you see behind me, I instinctively remembered a verse from my adolescence; one that I often read from the back of our toilet door; a poem by Max Ehrmann written in 1927, although at the time I read it, it was thought to have been found in Old Saint Paul’s Church, Baltimore, dated 1692. It began with ‘Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence.’ Followed later by these words, ‘And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should’, and concludes with, ‘Strive to be happy’. Desiderata, is Latin for “desired things”, things considered necessary or highly desirable.

Ehrmann‘s Wanders is also linked to our Lent/Easter expression.

Wanderers

A clear, cool night.

I have been reading, but the thoughts of man(kind) do not solace me.
I raised the curtain and looked at the moon, clear and silvery; and I brushed some of the unrest out of my mind.
I know all the theories of the moon.

There have been times when the symbols of science have robbed me of some of its mystery and charm.
But no one can explain the moon any more than a grasshopper can explain me.
In youth, the moon promised too much.

But now I understand better; that was not the moon’s fault.
Also the moon and I have this in common: We both are wanderers across the night.

Our faith may be considered within 5 aspects, all beginning with the letter C.

Communal happening within a community amongst all members. Human communities exist through a           cohesiveness of intent and belief, of  fellowship.“Community” is from the Latin communitas (cum, “with/together” + munus, “gift”)

Contextual, responsive to the present; to the current situation, circumstances and understandings

Collaborative, working together cooperatively and to assist willingly

Celebratory, celebrating all life, to rejoice

The fifth C is      

Challenging, to be challenged into life

‘I have come so that they may have life and have it to the full’, encapsulates these C’s. This leadership was all of these. When you step into leadership you step into that ‘I’, you come to leadership so that others may have life and have it to the full. When others step with this leader they are stepping into the present. As leadership comes your way consider it as that ‘gate’ you can choose to step through. Jesus did.

This community has stepped into challenging places. Some of those steps will no doubt be retraced through Peter’s Hegedus’ film, screening Monday week.

To follow or to ‘step’ with Jesus in his day would have been immensely challenging! At our Psalm Sunday liturgy Narelle Mullins shared this, ‘Taking that next step in a battering, swirling wilderness is truly Resurrection’.

To conclude our Lenten/Easter contemplation, I put these considerations to you, considerations that lie within any role of leadership that you ‘step’ into-

are we as a community ‘life giving’ as opposed to ‘just living’;

are we moving from desert to desiderata?

And finally, are we, when we come together, a ‘gift’ to each other?