Mackenzie Rice, High School Student

Matthew 21:23-27 ESV

And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them,

“Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

Reflection:
Servant leadership is a leadership philosophy where an individual interacts with others to achieve authority rather than power. Servant Leaders serve instead of command, show humility instead of enforcing control, and are always looking to enhance the lives of those around them in ways that unlock potential and one’s sense of purpose.

St. Luke’s Student Ministries has an incredible program for high school students: Servant Leadership Academy (SLA). SLA has fostered within me a serve-first mindset, where my priorities have shifted to revolve around empowering, supporting, and uplifting those around me… and letting go of trying to be a ‘strong’ leader first and foremost has made me a stronger and more effective leader than ever before. 

But I’ve messed up, as humans are so inclined to do, and am no stranger to making leadership decisions hindered by a desire to preserve my own power. I’ve always struggled with being a servant leader among early elementary students: shifting the power dynamic in a classroom to put the desires of five and six-year-olds above my own agenda seems to be asking for disaster. Once, when a kindergartener defiantly hollered, “I don’t wanna!” and threw her glue stick across the room, I followed my gut instinct, telling her, “I understand you’re upset, but your teacher told us we need to do this activity right now. Let’s go do it together!”

My attempts to diffuse the situation suppressed her rather than supported her and put my own agenda first. I was afraid that by letting her do something else, all of the other kiddos would want to do something else… and I would therefore lose all of my authority, not to mention the activity we had been given wouldn’t be completed. The ‘appropriate’ way to handle the situation isn’t black and white, but, in retrospect, the response of the servant leader I desire to be could have been along the lines of “Can you tell me why you don’t want to do the activity?” Hopefully, I’d then understand her frustration and desires and determine how to proceed from there.

It’s not only instances like this where my actions were blatantly wrong, however, but that also end up being harmful: a stance of neutrality can, too, defy the principles of leadership we’re called to embody. Letting her have her moment and deal with her frustrations by herself has the potential to be just as disrespectful of her needs.

In this passage, the religious leaders feel threatened by Jesus’ teaching, essentially questioning how he has the authority to act like them. They desire to preserve their power… and sharing the stage with this man, in their eyes, took away from their dominion. In response to Jesus’ question, the religious leaders avoided being for John (saying he’s ‘from heaven’) or against John (saying he’s ‘from man’) out of a concern for

what was ‘safe’ and socially acceptable to say, choosing neutrality instead. By what authority Jesus taught and performed miracles is a fundamental question of the Christian faith, and the way that we answer that question matters.

The religious leaders also held a fixed view of how the Messiah should come. But God’s wisdom isn’t confined to the worldly-wise. God’s grace isn’t confined to people the world approves of. Those who weren’t caught up in self-preservation saw it: revelation can come from unusual sources, unlikely people, and in unexpected places.

Prayer:
Awesome God, whatever authority I have, let me use it in loving service of those around me. Help me slow down enough to be guided by the Spirit as I lead my life and others, and help me to remember who has the only perfect, eternal authority. Open my eyes to my own stubbornness and secret desires to have power and help me soften those aspects of myself with your love and grace so I can continue to grow in servant leadership. Amen.