Helping others to come along...

Following this year's NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, many pundits announced that they expected University of Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis to be the first player selected in the NBA draft. At least one of them called Davis an exceptional player, but declared that to become truly great he must become more selfish.

I understand the point the pundit made. Great players want the ball in pressure situations with the game on the line. I see parallels with many professionals. We respect and often admire musicians who want to perform the most demanding music, scientists who want to tackle the most demanding questions, preachers who want to preach on Resurrection Sunday, etc. "Wanting the ball" in critical times indicates the confidence that can lead to excellence. Yet, when leaders "want the ball" solely or primarily for their own glory, even when we admire their skills we question their character. In sports, the arts, science, and industry, those with exceptional skills who seek to improve and include the others on the team deserve the greatest praise and have the most significant impact.

Thanks be to God for leaders with the capacity and the call to serve in key positions during challenging times. What would we do without them? Yet, when meeting the challenge is all about them, does the community truly benefit? Congregations often enter a period of decline immediately after a noteworthy success because those who led them through the challenge focused on their own needs and egos more than on making the project a community effort. Yes, a Michelangelo or a Calvin has the capacity to reach higher than the rest of us; but they also need assistance to reach their potential and their most lasting contributions stretch toward a glory higher than their own.

As I understand them, all the stories of the resurrection of Jesus point toward such greatness. Last Sunday we read the account in John in which the risen Jesus tells Mary Magdalene not to hold onto him but to go tell the others what she has seen and experienced (John 20). Mary and other followers of Jesus cannot stretch as high as Jesus, but he calls them to spread the news and to work with each other to continue his ministry. In the next chapter of John, Jesus repeatedly tells Peter, who appears to want to stand on his own, to express his love for him through his care for others. Greatness in the Gospel of John comes through uplifting others more than through self-glorification. That applies to Jesus and to those who follow him.

Thanks be to God for those with exceptional gifts and abilities. May their number increase. But thanks be to God even more, for those with not only the capacity to reach great heights but also the will and ability to help others to come along.

Easter Blessings,

LP