THE LEADER IN JESUS

Talk delivered by retired Chief Justice Artemio V. Panganiban on November 23, 1994 [prior to his joining the Supreme Court] during the Prayer Meeting of Bukas Loob sa Diyos Covenant Community at the Santuario de San Antonio Parish Hall, Makati City

Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

Last Sunday, November 20, 1994, the Catholic Church celebrated the Feast of Christ the King. Jesus is hailed not only as a King- – but as the King of all kings, the Ruler of all rulers, the Lord of lords – on earth, in the universe, in the heavens, in all of creation. For He indeed is the Sovereign and Master of everything, seen and unseen. And yet contrary to this mighty and glorious portrayal of Him as King and Lord, the gospel presents Jesus as a humble man, accused before Pilate – a relatively minor official, a Roman procurator, the rough equivalent of the Governor General during the Spanish regime in the Philippines. He was standing alone in a kangaroo trial, abandoned even by His closest disciples.

And when asked by Pilate, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered with another question: “Are you asking this on your own or have others been telling you about me?” In current trials in our courts, an alert Filipino lawyer would surely jump to his feet and would say to the judge, “Objection, your honor, the answer is both argumentative and unresponsive. I move to strike it off the record.” And even a half-sleep judge would probably rule: “Granted. Strike it out of the record.”

Truly, Jesus is an unusual King. His throne is a wooden cross, His crown a bouquet of thorns, His scepter a lowly reed, and His ring a rusty nail driven on His palm. His constituents betrayed Him, chanting, “Crucify Him, Crucify Him.” And yet He is the only King who resurrected from the dead and by such resurrection conquered sin not just in His own time but in all eternity. Since He is our leader, let us reflect this evening on what kind of a leader Jesus was and is.

1) Leader with a Clear Vision and Mission
First, Jesus is a leader with a vision and mission. He made it absolutely clear who He was, what His objectives were and how He intended to accomplish them.
Jesus incessantly articulated His ideas and visions. To His disciples, He spoke loftily, assertively and authoritatively. His mighty sermon on the mount is the greatest teaching of all time and for all time. He leaned heavily in favor of the poor, the sorrowing, the simple-hearted, and the peacemakers. He opposed the hypocrite, the arrogant, the proud and the self-righteous. He forgave the repentant and the simple-hearted.

To those who were not disciples, to the Jews and the Gentiles, to His opponents, He taught through parables. The parables were intended “to enable the listener to discover something for himself.” They awakened faith and made the listener discover the truth for himself or herself. That is why most of His parables ended with questions. “Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the man who fell in with the robbers?” was the question He asked in the parable of the good Samaritan (Lk 10:36); “which of them was more grateful to him” in the parable of the forgiven debtors (Lk 7:42); or “what fate do you suppose the owner of the vineyard has in store for them?” in the parable of the tenants (Lk 20:16).
Indeed, Jesus knew who He was, what He was supposed to do and how He was to achieve His mission. He knew He would suffer and die but He also knew He would be victorious! And as a great teacher, He proclaimed His salvific mission in different ways to different listeners.

2) A Leader of Courage and Conviction
Second, Jesus was a leader of enormous courage and unbreakable conviction. When He walked the earth 2,000 years ago, there was no freedom of speech, no freedom to dissent. Group conformity – particularly with the religious leaders of the time – was the only measure of truth and virtue. But Jesus did not conform. Albert Nolan in his book, “Jesus Before Christianity” describes Him as “a man who has the courage of His convictions… No tradition was too sacred to be questioned. No authority was too great to be contradicted… No assumption was too fundamental to be changed.”

He mixed with sinners, tax collectors, a Samaritan woman, a prostitute and an adulteress. He soon acquired a “bad” reputation of being “a glutton and a drunkard.” No matter. He did not seek anyone’s approval but avowedly denounced sin, repeatedly called for repentance and boldly proclaimed the kingdom of God, a kingdom which is the opposite of that preached by the Jews and the Romans; a kingdom where the weak is strong; and the strong is just; and the just is compassionate.
He did not mince words in identifying His opponents and denouncing their sins. He exclaimed (Mt. 23:25-27):

“Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, you frauds!
You cleanse the outside of the cup and dish and leave the inside filled with loot and lust! Blind Pharisee!
First, cleanse the outside of the cup so that its outside may be clean.
Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, you frauds!
You are like whitewashed tombs, beautiful to look at on the outside but inside full of filth and dead men’s bones.”

3 )An Exemplary Servant -Leader
Third, Jesus was a servant-leader who led by example. In the gospel reading a month ago, on October 16, 1994 (20th Sunday in Ordinary Time), Jesus told His disciples:

“You know how among the Gentiles are those who seem to
exercise authority lord it over them; their great ones make
their importance felt. It cannot be like that with you. Anyone among you who aspires to greatness must serve the rest; whoever wants to rank first among you must serve the needs of all. The Son of Man has not come to be served but to serve – to give His life in ransom for the many.” (Mk 10:42-45)
True it is indeed, among the Gentiles, among the non-disciples, the leaders lord it over their followers. In our country, it is no different. Although our leaders are elected by the people and call themselves public servants, the sad fact is that they arrogate unto themselves power and authority over the life and death of our people. Hence, they allocate unto themselves huge “pork barrel funds” or “discretionary funds” or whatever it is now called so they could dispense patronage and favors. So, people will owe them personally the building of roads, the repair of public markets or the construction of water systems. Our leaders make themselves the center of authority such that no business can be opened without their blessing, no employment can be secured without their recommendation and no wedding or baptism will be complete without a politician as a sponsor. Indeed, our leaders make their importance felt – not by reason of their wisdom or service – but by the authority and power they clothe themselves with.
Quite the opposite, Jesus did not come to be served but to serve. He gave of Himself freely and fully, not wanting or needing anything for Himself.

And more than that, He led by example. To show that He is ready to perform the humblest of service, He washed the feet of His apostles, telling them “You address me as ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord” and fittingly enough for that is what I am. But if I, who am a Teacher and Lord, have washed your feet, then you, too, must wash each other’s feet. What I did was to give you an example: as I have done for you, so you must do.” (Jn 13:14-16).

4) A Leader of Prayer and Faith
Fourthly, Jesus was a leader of intense prayer and unbending faith. The Bible is replete with stories of Jesus praying to His Father. Just before Jesus walked on the water, the Evangelist Matthew related that He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray, remaining there alone as evening drew on.” (Mt. 14:23-24). In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed so intensely that his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground. And while He was nailed to the cross, He prayed aloud several times, like Father, forgive them for they know not what they do” and “Father, into Your Hands I commend my spirit.”
And to emphasize the great importance of prayer, Jesus Himself taught His disciples the best prayer of all, the “Lord’s Prayer.”

5) A Leader of Justice and Love
Finally and most importantly, Jesus was a leader of justice and love. Romans, chapter 14, verse 17 says that “the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating or drinking, but of justice, peace and the joy that is given by the Holy Spirit.” Justice, peace, and joy. These are hallmarks of Christ.
When the bible speaks of justice, it really refers to righteousness – being “right” with God. We are “right” with God when we obey His commandments and follow His ways. We can be “right” with God when we heed Jesus who said: “He who will not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” Jesus emphasized the importance of righteousness by concluding His sermon on the mount with: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Mt. 6:33).
The Scriptures describe Jesus as the ultimate judge of all. He will come in glory with His royal angels and will pass judgment on the basis of whether, we, His creatures gave food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, clothing to the naked, and comfort to the imprisoned (Cf Mt. 26:35-40). In announcing the imminent arrival of Jesus into the world, the prophet Isaiah declared:

“Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I am pleased, Upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations.”

But Jesus is not only just. More than anything, He is compassionate and loving. In many parts of the gospel, Jesus showed His compassion for the crowds which followed him. Though He was at times tired and weary, still He taught them, fed them, and healed them. He never turned them down. On the contrary, He showed overwhelming love for the weak, the sick, the poor, the marginalized, the outcast, and the sinner.

A good illustration of the supremacy of His love is shown in the story of the adulteress (Jn. 8:1-11). Jesus was confronted by the scribes (or canon lawyers) with a woman caught in flagranti with adultery. “Teacher,” the scribes mischievously said to Him, “this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. In the law, Moses ordered such women to be stoned. What do you have to say about the case?”
You know, brothers and sisters, this was a difficult situation – for really the law, as known by the Jews, imposed penalty of death by stoning on every woman who commits adultery. If Jesus did not impose it, He would be violating the law – and if He did, He would be authorizing the killing of a human being. In the face of the dilemma, Jesus replied, “Let the man among you who is sinless be the first to cast a stone at her.” At this, the men dispersed for they realized that Jesus knew their many sins.
Indeed, to be just is to be wise. But justice is not the most valued virtue in the kingdom of God. It is love. As St. Paul said (1Cor 13):

“If I speak with human and angelic tongues but not have love, I am a noisy gong, a clanging cymbal… if I have faith great enough to move mountains, but have no love, I gain nothing ….. If I give everything I have to feed the poor and hand over my body to be burned but have no love, I am nothing.”

“…There are in the end three things that last: faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.”
In our modern day and age, it is difficult to imagine a man who is both just and loving at the same time. For justice is seen as aloof and objective while love is perceived as intimate and subjective. Indeed, how can a judge impose the law as justice requires and at the same time waive the penalty as love pleads? In other words, can justice be satisfied while at the same time, express the truest and dearest of love? The answer is YES. Let me illustrate.

There was this young lady-driver who was brought before a judge for speeding. “Young lady,” solemnly intoned His Honor, “this police officer says you were driving at 100 kms per hour in a 50-kilometer zone. What have you to say?”

“Your Honor,” grieved the young lady, ‘I admit my mistake. I am truly sorry and I solemnly promise I will not do it again.”

“For speeding you are hereby sentenced to pay a fine of P500,” concluded the judge.
After adjourning the court session, the judge removed his black robe, went straight to the court cashier, pulled out his wallet and paid the 500-peso fine. He paid the penalty out of love because the law-breaker is his daughter. Justice was served – and so was love.

And this is really the story of Jesus. He is justice personified. We, His people, sinned. We violated the law of God. And so, the justice of God requires our punishment. Because justice is in the nature of God, He – even if He were the most powerful being in the universe – cannot refuse to impose the sanction of the law. Otherwise, He would be violating His own nature. But Jesus is also love personified. So, out of His great love, He came into the world and atoned for our sins. He saved us from the fury of hell. He made it possible for us to experience the never-ending joy of heaven. Jesus is the judge in our little story. He had to impose the penalty so justice could be served. But because He loves us, He bore our guilt and paid the penalty.

Such is the love in Jesus. Such is the Leader in Jesus. Such is the King we celebrate. Such is King Jesus.

All hail King Jesus!