When leaders become misleaders

In our Gospel reading today (Matthew 4:18-22), Jesus entrusted the leadership of the Church to ordinary men who clearly lacked status, formal education, or social influence.

- FR. ROLANDO Y. DELA ROSA, O.P.

Why did He not choose gifted leaders, brilliant intellectuals, or men who could easily command respect and obedience?The same question arises today when people look at the Church and wonder why so few of its leaders possess the charisma, eloquence, or influence of prominent public figures. Yet the Gospel makes one truth unmistakably clear: Jesus does not choose His apostles on the basis of merit or prior qualifications, but out of His mercy and compassion. Saint Mother Teresa expressed this beautifully when she said, “God called us, not for what we are, but for what we can become through His grace.”

When Jesus called the future leaders of the Church, He saw them not merely as weak and imperfect men, but as persons capable of growth, conversion, and holiness. He knew that if they cooperated with His grace, they would become the leaders the Church so desperately needed.

History, however, shows that this was not always the case. Many leaders, both in the Church and in other spheres of human endeavor, have resisted the transforming power of God's grace. Instead of exercising authentic leadership, they inflicted misery and injustice upon those they were meant to serve.