Host: Welcome to Saint Patrick Catholic Community podcast. We're glad you're with us.
Fr. Eric: As a boy, I recall some people in my life that had a profound effect in growing up. And these were men that came across my life in different roles. And I didn't realize the goodness and this gift they gave me until long after I experienced them. In third and fourth grade, I was part of the little league in Safford, Arizona. I played for a team called the Yankees.
We finished in second place both years because we couldn't beat the Mets. Today, everyone beats the Mets. Okay. I don't if it's the same Mets or not. But I had the first coach my first year was a man named Bob Gibson.
The second year was the man we didn't know his last name. We just called him Daryl. And in there, both those men were so good. Now I didn't appreciate or realize what kind of leadership they gave. I just had a good time with my friends.
And what I noticed is my other friends had good time. All people were felt important. Even I felt important with both those men. Then in fourth and fifth grade, I had the same teacher, mister Arlen Turley. Now the thing about it, he lived right across the street from me.
So I had to do homework. Otherwise, I couldn't lie to him that I was I was too busy. And so, in fact, a parishioner at 08:30 came up and said, he had mister Tellez too in Safford. So in fourth grade, and then he went to fifth grade, and I was assigned to his class. The way he made me feel, the way he led class, lessons that I can hear his voice even today.
What a profound influence he was in my life. In sixth grade, we moved to Holbrook, and a mister Leon Myers from Arkansas was there. That's the hogs. And we used to fight all the time between Notre Dame and Arkansas. And you know, that was the last teacher I had that was just one class.
And after that, you had a number of classes with different teachers. And, you know, when I was growing up, I had a good time. The the men helped me to grow, but I didn't appreciate it. It wasn't until years later that I understood what leadership was about, what entailed, and how it makes a difference in people's lives. And I am so grateful to this day that I can tell you I hear the voices of all those men teaching me lessons that I learned as a boy.
In today's gospel from John chapter 10 verses one to 10, it is the role of leadership. And what it is is authentic leadership versus leadership that is self serving and destructive. This gospel talks about the contrast between good leadership and poor leadership. Jesus uses the words robbers, thieves and robbers. Now you and I might think of it as petty crimes, but the word in the scriptures used to talk about robbers are those who cause destruction and destroy people and take advantage of them through manipulation.
And so for us as Christians, it isn't just about church. It is about in life of whose voices of leadership we listen to. What kind of leadership we develop and who we choose to follow in leadership. The first thing that Jesus establishes is the gate. And what he says is that whoever goes through the gate leads but on to authenticity.
In other words, they have right authority because they go through the gate. They learn from Jesus what it means to lead people. Thieves and marauders go over the wall. In ancient times, all the sheep of all the sheep herders gathered together in one fold, and one shepherd is chosen at night to lay down, to be the gate, to protect the sheep. And so Jesus says, those who come through the gate are authentic leaders because they are in right relationship.
And what he says, those who are robbers are those who are manipulative. They are hidden, and they don't they're not transparent. They climb in to destroy the sheep in another way. The second thing about leadership is this. Jesus talks about personal knowledge and care for the sheep, for the people that are led.
In other words, they don't treat people as numbers or in their roles. Rather a true leader knows the people that they serve, that they lead. They understand their needs. And what a leader does is guides. Guides people.
Thieves come to exploit. Good leadership seeks the good of others, not personal gain. Good leaders serve sacrifice and they do not use people as a means to an end. The third thing is leadership is life giving. Life giving.
I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly. In other words, leadership allows people to grow, to flourish and to be alive. They're not controlled. They're not diminished and they don't spread fear amongst people. The fourth thing of leadership is leadership.
Good authentic leadership protects and helps people discern. I am the gate and that gate then guards against harm and the true leader doesn't allow things to come in the community that will destroy people and destroy and rob them of dignity and be exploited. And so my friends, poor leadership, exploitive thieves and robbers have always been part of human nature. And Jesus uses the voice then to say, what voice do we follow? Now, the church should serve as an example both good and not so good.
And so being around for two thousand years in my experience of church, there are some great leaders. I want you to know there are some great bishops that I listen to, that I follow. There's some great priest out there and lay leaders who really feed me spiritually and go, wow, I never thought about that. But the church is also filled with poor bishops, poor priest, poor leadership in laity. And I do not listen to their voices.
I respect them as human beings, but I do not follow what they say. And the reason I tell you that is that I still stay in church. Rather than looking at what is wrong with leadership in church, what is broken, what is not good, and those in church leadership who act as thieves and robbers because that's our history. If you follow the history of the church, it's even present today. And yet to leave then is to leave good leadership.
And really, the greatest denomination now other than Roman Catholicism are those who've walked away. 32,000,000 people right now are those who consider themselves no longer Catholic. So today, as we pound our chest and pat ourselves on the back and say, wow, it seems like young people are returning back to church. Wow, there were so many baptisms. And, you know, that's a good thing.
I don't wanna rain on anybody's parade, but I want you to know statistics tell us there are more people leaving than joining. And what are we doing as a church to reach out to over 32,000,000 people who say they don't wanna be part of community for whatever reason. And that's why good leadership will go after the lost and let them know that they are valued, that we hear their story. And so I stay in the church in spite of poor leadership by some because I choose to listen to the voices of those who are good leaders. And so I ask you, whose voice are you listening to in the world today?
What kind of leadership do you support or I support? Because right now, there are leaders who are exploded, exploiting people who are only doing things for themselves, who do not care about people. And they've always been in existence even at the time of Jesus. And many Christians are saying yes to that. And that's not what the gospel's talking about.
John chapter 10 verses one to 10 speaks about what authentic leadership is. Guiding, knowing, and giving life to people so that they may have it more abundantly.
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