The Gospels describe many scenes where Jesus engages in seemingly reckless behavior. For example, he often confronts the religious authorities with no backup. He says he is Lord of the Sabbath and that he can forgive sins. He overturns the tables of the money changers in the temple. The authorities literally want to kill him — and they get their wish because he admits he is the Messiah.
Why does Jesus run these risks, and what does it have to do with leadership? Well, we know that he does all this to save us. But the Gospels also show us a more immediate cause: Everything Jesus does is driven by his passionate commitment to doing the will of his Father. He tells us of that passion: “I have come to set the world on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism by which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished” (Lk 12:49-50).
Jesus’ passion is fundamental to his leading us back to his Father. He has the passion to face his crucible, and he gives us the Holy Spirit so that we might follow him. It is the Holy Spirit who links the followers of Jesus to him as their leader, enabling those very followers to become leaders who bring others to Christ and his Father, to this very day.
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JOSEPH MCINERNEY is vice president of leadership and ethics education for the Knights of Columbus.








