Ordinary Time 
Pause
What makes a leader worthy to follow? Relevance? Intelligence? Vision?
All of that misses the point.
Instead:
Why don’t we follow “people with an ardent desire
to dwell in God's presence,
to listen to God's voice,
to look at God's beauty,
to touch God's incarnate Word
and to taste fully God's infinite goodness?”
quotation from Henri Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus (1989)
Listen
Establish justice for me, God! Argue my case against ungodly people! Rescue me from the dishonest and unjust! Because you are my God, my protective fortress! Why have you rejected me? Why do I have to walk around, sad, oppressed by enemies? Send your light and truth—those will guide me! Let them bring me to your holy mountain, to your dwelling place.
Psalm 43:1-3
Think
The Psalmist is suffering at the hand of dishonest and unjust people. How do I feel when people talk about me behind my back? When people are dishonest or unjust in what they say about me? I’m not really happy about it. Like the Psalmist, I might walk around, sad, feeling oppressed. If I’m unhappy about it when somebody does it to me, why would I do the same thing to someone else?
Truth and light from God should be my guide in interacting with others. No matter how people treat me, God wants to be the Leader on my life’s journey.
The Psalmist pictures God as a protective fortress. A fortress surrounds people who are at war, protecting them from their enemies. God is the fortress that protects me from the things that might hurt me. By following what is true and full of God’s light, I will live with God.
Deborah Guy
Pray
Lord, I want to live with you. Lead me into truth and light so I will always follow your ways and not my own. Amen.
Go
May I see the opportunities to lead and have the humility to follow the leaders who are following the Lord's path.
