Note from Father Joe: Go and Do the Same to Those You Are Called to Serve

My favorite Gospel passage is John 13: 1 – 15, which is read at Holy Thursday Mass. This is the story of Jesus eating the Paschal Meal with his disciples and washing their feet as the supper was ending. His loving gesture was unexpected, and Peter refuses the offer but relents after a reprimand.  When Jesus finishes the washing, he instructs that he has given them an example they all should follow. This teaching shows Jesus as a servant leader.

Let me explain what servant leadership means—and how I have seen it done countless times in classrooms by ACE teachers.

Mary is a 3^rd grade teacher and has had an impact on how reading is taught, not only in her school but also in other schools in her diocese. She has 24 students and has developed individualized reading plans for each student. This is difficult to do because it takes time to assess each student’s reading level and then spend quality time with each individual while the other 23 students work on their own reading. It’s a minor miracle.

Mary and her reading program present an example of servant leadership. She is paying attention to each individual student by assessing their reading level and then teaching them. It is not what Mary wants, but what the student needs in order to progress in reading skills. The individual attention shows the students Mary cares about them. 

Bob is a high school Math teacher who inspires students by the enthusiasm and energy he brings into the classroom. He realizes that many students dislike Math. They may have a poor background in it and refuse to work at it. So from the first meeting with a Math class and every day that follows, Bob conveys the message that “Math is beautiful.”

His students realize he generously gives encouragement and hope to everybody. He spends extra time outside of the class with struggling students and makes them feel good about their prospects for learning Math. One student remarks, “I will not become a Math major, but I am not afraid of it anymore.” Bob teaches his students that Math is beautiful and, even more importantly, they are beautiful.

Mary and Bob are servant leaders, with the approach Jesus teaches us when he washes the feet of the disciples. The lesson for teachers is to see the face of God in each student and to realize that a teacher’s life is about focusing on his or her students. This is easy to say, but difficult to put into practice.

We have an example from Christ the Teacher. He teaches by what he does for his disciples—and for us. Let Jesus wash your feet. Then go and do the same for those you are called to serve.