". . . The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

This was precisely Jesus' mission on earth. It was one of servanthood even death on the Cross for the salvation of sinners like us. In the "washing of the feet", Jesus spoke powerfully about what this servanthood entailed. This is the main reason why Jesus responded to the request of the mother of Zebedee's sons by saying ". . . You do not know what you are asking . . . for anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant . . .".

So Jesus' two models of authority are that of service and involuntary slavery. This is in contrast to the prevailing leadership style which is of greed for power and domination we see in our society.

We can see in Jesus the life of Prophet Jeremiah. The leaders and priests were angry with Jeremiah's prophecy which disturbed their conscience. So, they planned to plot against Jeremiah despite the plea of Jeremiah to Yahweh on their behalf. They responded to goodness with evil!

Let us be reminded of our individual and communal sins of domination and exploitation making marginalization and rejection of people, a way of life.