God With Us, Not Over Us

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What comes across clearly in the readings this Sunday is the contrast between the humble servant depicted in the first two readings and the glory the disciples seek in the Gospel.

In Isaiah and in the Letter to the Hebrews, we meet a humble servant, someone who’s accessible to us, who has endured suffering and so knows and understands our suffering in a deeply personal way. We are meant to see Jesus as this servant. And Jesus has demonstrated through the Gospels that he is this — an approachable faith leader, an accessible God. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin.”

Then in the Gospel, James and John come to Jesus and pretty much demand status – the honor to sit at either side of him. They just don’t get it. Leading, according to Jesus, is about service. It’s not about your own privilege but about other people. He contrasts his leadership with that of secular leaders. They lord it over other people and make their own power felt. Jesus, on the other hand, who is Lord, does not lord power over people. He enters in relationally – healing, preaching, teaching, whatever a person needs.

What a strong call to faith leaders today. You know as well as I do that there are ministers in every Christian denomination and nondenomination who are all up in their privilege, who lord power over other people, who make ministry all about them. There are other ministers, though, who are present to people, who serve alongside people instead of over them. What a difference that makes. It’s interesting to me that some Christian leaders, who say they follow Jesus, think it’s okay to minister in the vision of James and John but not the vision of Jesus. It’s interesting to me, too, that people of God put up with this.

In her book Dare to Lead, Brené Brown calls this dynamic “power over” vs. “power with.”* On her website, brenebrown.com, she offers a chart to differentiate between the two and says, “Power over is driven by fear. Daring and transformative leaders share power with, empower people to, and inspire people to develop power within.” This sounds a lot like Jesus to me. Look how many people he healed, not by controlling them but by asking what they wanted. Look how many so-called sinners he forgave and then empowered to change their lives simply by saying, “Go, and don’t sin anymore.” Look at how many people he simply brought along with him in mission. And those who joined him in mission were empowered too, but not for their own advantage; he empowered them to serve. There was nothing glamorous about hanging out with Jesus.

In my years of ministry, I’ve observed both power-over and power-with kinds of ministers, and I’ve been blessed to experience what power-with leadership feels like. When I taught high school, I had a principal who supported me, who really mentored me so that I grew as a teacher. When I worked at a parish, I had a pastor who did the same, who challenged me to do hard things, like Scripture reflections, but who also supported me as I grew. And, in turn, I hope I was that kind of leader for my students, someone who recognized their gifts and challenged them to use them and supported them when it was hard. I didn’t know the words “power with,” but I hope my students knew that I was with them.

Whether or not we identify as leaders or ministers, each of us as a Christian is called to serve other people. Anytime we enter into service, we can either lord our privilege over others (I am here to serve you less fortunate people) or we can enter in relationally, human to human (we’re all in need and we all have something to give). How do we serve out of our humility and genuine presence rather than our privilege? I think we need to keep calling each other to that kind of power-with, service-oriented leadership. And we need listen to God.

God who is almighty does not hold power over us but is deeply with us, seeking to be close to us – our every experience, thought, feeling, and relationship. How do we open ourselves to God who wants to be with us so deeply? And how do we offer that loving presence to other people?


For Reflection:

  • What kinds of experiences have you had with leaders? How does it feel to have a power with rather than a power over kind of leader?

  • Who is Christ for you? Do you allow Christ to enter into relationship with you or do you keep Christ at arms length? How is that for you?

  • How do you enter into service with other people? How is God calling you to serve now?


* Brown, Brené. Dare to Lead: Brave work, Tough Conversations, Whole Hearts. New York, NY: Random House, 2018.

by Sister Leslie Keener, CDP

Sister Leslie Keener, CDP is the director of God Space, a community-building spirituality ministry in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. She’s a Sister of Divine Providence with a Masters in Ministry and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction and Retreats from Creighton University. She directs retreats, meets with people for spiritual direction, and serves as the vocation director for her community. She enjoys music, dancing, meaningful conversations, and pumpkin spice.

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