Walking Alone

Understanding that leadership means influence

Mark 4:21-25 

Jesus said to his disciples, "Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand? For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light. Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear." He also told them, "Take care what you hear. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you. To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."

          I have an older brother, Paul, who epitomizes that ancient adage: “even a blind sow can occasionally find an acorn.” That is, sometimes he says something really smart (but not very often). Several years ago he told me that to be an effective priest meant I must also be an able leader. And naturally, I scoffed at the suggestion because I believed all a priest has to do is say Mass, hear confessions, baptize babies, etc. Or, as we say in the church business, “hatch, match and dispatch.” But he disagreed and he gave me a book by John Maxwell called, Developing the Leader Within You. It became the first of many books I would later read on leadership.

          Maxwell has a masterful definition of leadership. He defines leadership with one word, “influence,” nothing more and nothing less, and to influence someone means you’ve inspired them to follow you. Maxwell frequently quotes a Chinese proverb that goes, “Anyone who think he’s a leader and has no followers is just going for a walk.”  Apparently, my brother thought I was just walking around by myself and could use some company. But he helped me see priesthood in an entirely new light: as a priest did I inspire others to want to be Catholic? Did I influence anyone to want to be a priest? Did I help someone to follow Jesus to heaven? In short, was I leading anyone?  Priesthood is about more than saying Mass and hearing confessions (essential as those things are); it’s also about leadership and leadership is “influence,” nothing more and nothing less.

          In the gospel today, Jesus teaches his disciples this same lesson my brother tried to teach me: discipleship also involves leadership. Jesus says, “Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand?” The question is rhetorical, and the answer should be obvious: clearly a lamp is lit to give light to others. In other words, lamps lead others, they influence others, they enlighten others. The future priests of Jesus Christ, therefore, must do more than say Mass and hear confessions, they must lead others by influencing them like light.

          Today’s feast day is a lovely illustration of this precise point: the feast of Sts. Timothy and Titus, which follows hard on the heels of yesterday’s feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. Yesterday we celebrated that Jesus called Saul the Pharisee to become Paul the Apostle, who’s also known as “the Apostles to the Nations.” And the following day we see what he did as an apostle: he influenced two men to become bishops, Timothy and Titus. St. Paul understood well what my brother Paul taught me: leadership is influencing others; otherwise, you’re just going for a walk by yourself.

          My friends, may I suggest to you that whatever walk of life you’re in, you must be a leader, and leadership is influence. And leaders never walk alone. Have you ever thought of marriage as leadership, that is, as “influence”? Marriage is for the purpose of helping your spouse to get to heaven. Are you influencing him or her in that direction, are you leading them there? What kind of leader are you for your children? They look to you not only to feed and clothe them, but also to lead and influence them. How about at work: do you say, “Do this because I’m the boss!” or do you inspire people to want to follow you? Let me tell you a little secret: at this church, the real leader is not necessarily the pastor, but rather it’s the person people will follow, the one with the most influence. Everyone else in this church -  including the pastor perhaps! - is just going for a walk by himself.

          Isn’t that old saying intriguing: “even a blind sow can occasionally find an acorn.” The funny thing is: it’s not always easy to tell who the blind sow really is.

          Praised be Jesus Christ!