Last week, I wrote about St. Valentine’s Day, but the next day was another American holiday: Presidents’ Day.
Besides the mattress and car sales, Presidents’ Day is a day to recall our past national leaders: the good and bad. We recall which ones have inspired us and which ones have led us through difficult times.
We also revisit old presidential speeches to see how our past presidents have motivated us to greatness, and how they brought us into the modern age.
We all have our favorite president or presidents. And, some presidents have so many fans, it’s almost like a cult following!
As for the church, everyday is like a “Presidents’ Day.” As you know, each day the church calendar is full of saints–the leaders of the church. Some of them led through martyrdom, while others led through through words.
All this thinking about leaders. I wonder what the Bible says?
At the time of Jesus, there were various kinds of leaders. There were Sadducees who were Temple leaders. These leaders cooperated with Herod and the Roman authorities. There were also Scribes and Pharisees who were experts on the Law. These folks were the beginning of what we know as modern day Rabbinic Judaism.
Here’s what Jesus has to say about them:
“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them.” (Matthew 23:2-4)
Ouch!
And, if you read the rest of Matthew 23 (I highly encourage you to do so), it gets even worse. Jesus throws “woe” after “woe” at the Pharisees. It’s a mug slinging fest.
But, what’s most impressive about the whole thing is that Jesus says we should do what they teach, despite his harsh condemnation of them. Why would this be?
Well, as I think about it, I think what Jesus is doing is “cancel culture!” In other words, he’s canceling out the leaders while retaining the teaching.
What an ingenious move!
What Jesus essentially does, is keep the leaders from developing a cult following. He’s preventing people from following charismatic leaders simply because of their charm.
Instead, Jesus makes sure the Law, God’s instruction, the gospel, stays front and center. It doesn’t matter who is is teaching, as long as they’re teaching scripture.
This wisdom still works today.
Just as Jesus didn’t want a cult following around the Scribes and Pharisees, we shouldn’t create cult followings around our church leaders today. We should focus solely on the gospel.
And, if we apply this sort of wisdom to our national leaders, perhaps, just perhaps, we can overcome the tensions in our society. Instead of worrying about this leader or that leader (or this party or that party), we can set all that aside (bipartisanship?) in order to see the best path forward.
Ultimately, what matters is the teaching–the gospel–for the glory of God!