The Apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

“Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’?

Would he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished’? Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded?

So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’”

With the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (PCP II, January-February 1991), servant leader or servant leadership has become a byword or catchphrase in the Catholic Church. Servant-leader is especially said of the priest, especially in the celebration of the Eucharist. In his pastoral ministry, he reaches out to all classes of people in the community with great kindness. He inspires and leads the community so that they will become what they are supposed to be. Servanthood is done after the manner of Jesus who washed the Apostles’ feet at the Last Supper.

Servant leadership is also called for in the modern workplace, be it in political or business sphere. True servant leaders put the needs of their constituents or employees first. They focus on the development of individuals who perform their best.

Servanthood has its most radical meaning in the situation and attitude of a servant in today’s Gospel, mirroring the condition of slaves in ancient time. In the Roman empire, a slave was no more than a chattel, subject to the whims of his master. He could be punished with death or sold to another master. While slavery among the Jews was more benign, a slave had to do what Jesus says in the “parable”: he first must attend to the affairs of his master before his own: to work in his master’s farm holdings and prepare food after work. And he could not expect any reward; he was doing only what he was expected to do as a slave.

The parable is by no means an acquiescence to slavery. Jesus describes what slavery is exactly to show how we human beings stand before God as his creatures. Everything God offers to human beings is pure grace, out of the abundance of his heart. In terms of human justice, God owes nothing to us; we owe God everything.

Yet, God loves everything he has made. When we humble ourselves, God raises us up. Jesus calls his Apostles “friends”—not slaves or servants. And as a reward for the vigilant and faithful servants, he who is Master and Lord, will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on him (Lk 12:37). Exactly the opposite of what the master does in the Gospel story.

Servant leadership can be misnomer when leaders—whether religious, political, or civil—behave as masters and treat people as servants who do their bidding. How often politicians and government officials call themselves mga lingkod ng bayan (servants of the people) only to lord it over the people. After all, they say, “What are we in power for?”

These words of Bishop Antonio Nercua Ablon are worth reflecting: “The Church doesn’t need more people who think they are leaders, it needs more people who know they’re servants.”