Episode #288
I am a Christian as well as a leader
On Sunday of the Twenty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time our Church invites us to read and reflect on a passage from the beginning of book of the prophet Ezekiel (1:3-13, 22-28) entitled "The vision of God's glory in the land of exile". Our treasure, which follows, is from a sermon On Pastors by Saint Augustine, bishop. Saint Augustine was born at Tagaste in Africa in 354. He is perhaps the most significant Christian thinker after St. Paul. The legacy of Saint Augustine of Hippo is immense, shaping both Catholic theology and Western thought as a whole. He is best known for his profound writings—especially Confessions and City of God —which explore the human heart's restless search for God, the reality of sin and grace, and the meaning of history. In short, his legacy is that of a master teacher who showed that the journey to God is both deeply personal and firmly grounded in truth. Saint Augustine is a preeminent Catholic Doctor of the Church. His most important teachings shape not only Western theology but the entire intellectual tradition of the Church. His thought deeply influenced later figures such as Saint Thomas Aquinas and remains foundational in Catholic doctrine. He died in 430. The work commonly called "On Pastors" by Saint Augustine is a series of sermons, especially Sermon 46, On the Shepherds , where God condemns shepherds who feed themselves instead of caring for His flock. Its most significant teaching is that Christ alone is the true Good Shepherd; human pastors serve faithfully only when they love Christ's sheep as His own, seeking not themselves but the salvation of those entrusted to their care—and therefore genuine pastoral love sometimes requires both tender encouragement and courageous correction. Ezekiel was an Old Testament priest and prophet who ministered among the Jewish exiles in Babylon during the sixth century BC, beginning around 593 BC, after many people of Judah had been deported from Jerusalem. The central teaching of the Book of Ezekiel is that God is holy, each person is responsible for responding to Him with repentance and obedience, and God desires not the sinner's destruction but conversion and new life . God does not merely repair our external circumstances; He desires to transform us from within, replacing hearts hardened by sin with hearts capable of knowing, loving, and faithfully following Him. Taken together, these two readings teach that those called to serve God and lead His people must never forget that they themselves remain disciples who depend completely upon God's grace and must first listen to Him before speaking for Him . In our first reading from the opening of Ezekiel, the prophet is living among an exiled and discouraged people when he receives an overwhelming vision of God's glory, showing that God remains present, sovereign, and active even far from Jerusalem and amid suffering and apparent defeat ; then, in our "treasure" from the beginning of On Pastors , Saint Augustine humbly distinguishes between being a Christian and being a bishop—being Christian is a grace shared with the people, while leadership is a serious responsibility exercised for their salvation. Together these readings teach that Christian leadership begins not with status or authority but with encountering God, recognizing our dependence upon Him, and humbly serving His people; the faithful shepherd does not lead others to himself but helps them recognize and follow the God who remains present and faithful even in times of suffering, uncertainty, and exile.
