Servant Leadership and Sacrifice

At this week's Easter Liturgy I focused on a couple of themes; Servant Leadership and Sacrifice.

The symbolism of Jesus washing the feet of His disciples is often underappreciated. Peter's refusal to have his feet washed was due to an understanding that had existed since time immemorial. Leaders had their feet washed, they did not wash the feet of those perceived below their station. Jesus was turning the concept of the master-servant relationship on its head, and it was revolutionary then, and still challenges some leaders today.

Servant Leadership is, in my humble opinion, sometimes misunderstood. Often it is interpreted as the Leader doing everything for the servant. Certainly, a leader should not expect a servant to do what they haven't, or wouldn't do, but you can't grow someone by simply doing things for them. Jesus did much for his followers to grow them and sometimes it included chastising or rebuking. Jesus, when responding to the disciples complaining about the widow's tiny contribution challenged their thinking by stating:
'Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood'. 

Again, when responding to their complaints of the woman being profligate by anointing Jesus with expensive perfume, Christ shamed the complainers by replying:
'Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.'

Finally, on the night of His arrest, Jesus gave a simple instruction to his followers in the Garden of Gethsemane:
My anguish is so great that I feel as if I'm dying. "Wait here, and stay awake with me."  After walking a little farther, he quickly bowed with his face to the ground and prayed, "Father, if it's possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. But let your will be done rather than mine." When he went back to the disciples, he found them asleep. He said to Peter, "Couldn't you stay awake with me for one hour?  Stay awake, and pray that you won't be tempted. You want to do what's right, but you're weak." 

Servant Leadership is about serving the needs of those you lead, and sometimes that does require challenge. As parents, teachers and allied staff, we in the CBC Community are always called on to challenge the boys because we love them and want them to thrive. The same cannot be said about popular culture, Andrew Tate, TikTok or a plethora of other influences that prey on young people in the guise of showing them how to be cool. The CBC Gentleman is challenged to be a servant leader by calling out aberrant behaviour in his friends, peers and College brothers. My challenge for the boys today is to show love for their mates by calling poor or misguided behaviour out. If they see it online, call it out. If a mate thinks it's cool to take off the toilet cubicle doors because TikTok says its cool, call it out. If a mate gets a silly idea to sell contraband, call it out. If you see a friend try and drive a car when he is in no state to do so, or driving in an unsafe way, call it out. That is true leadership. That is servant leadership.

The other story I told the boys, some of you may have heard at a Parent Night or two. The National Service Act 1964, passed on 24 November, required 20-year-old males, if selected, to serve in the Army for a period of twenty-four months of continuous service (reduced to eighteen months in 1971), followed by three years in the Reserve. The Defence Act was amended in May 1965 to provide that conscripts could be obliged to serve overseas, and in March 1966, Prime Minister Holt announced that National Servicemen would be sent to Vietnam to fight in units of the Australian Regular Army.

As a child, I lived next door to the most quintessential Australian family there could possibly be. Wharfie dad, salt of the earth mum, many children and a couple of foster children. This particular family was famous as being one of the only ones with a television (the famous Astor!) and their lounge room was always full to the brim. One thing that always caught my attention as a young boy was the small shrine that sat on the Astor and the mantelpiece above it. There were several models of aircraft carriers and WWII heavy bombers, but what caught my eye were the several gum bichromate portraits of young men in their military uniform. Over time I found out they were brothers, uncles, great uncles and grandfathers of my neighbours; relatives who had not returned from the great conflicts of World Wars I & II, and Korea. The constant reminder of their kin who had made the ultimate sacrifice served as a reference point for everything else that occurred in that family's life. I can still remember being scolded for crying as a result of an insignificant event and being told about 'the soldiers who didn't cry when they etc., etc.'

One particular night that stands out for me involved the ballot. One of the sons (the third eldest) was eligible for National Service, and as a result, Vietnam. The whole family watched with apprehension as one of the marbles drawn was the birthdate of their son and brother. When it was obvious what had just transpired, the mother stoically walked across to the son and said simply "It's your turn now son, do us proud!"

When I think of families today, I'm not sure the same stoicism and sense of duty would prevail. Sacrifice is something that many families have not endured for decades now. In the 1960s, the World Wars, Great Depression, post-war migration and way of life lent itself to understanding the value of sacrifice. It gave people of that era context and reference. Life could only get better. One of the problems with the times now, in my humble opinion and experience, is that many young people do not really understand sacrifice.

At this time, in our Holiest of Weeks, please spend some time with your sons and remind them that all they have did not fall from the sky. Sacrifices were made by you and your forebears. Together we hope to instill the selflessness in your sons that will enable them to make similar sacrifices into the future. And whilst you are at it, please remind your sons of the significance of this time and the ultimate sacrifice made by our Lord in order for us to be liberated from death.

On behalf of all the staff of CBC Fremantle, have a Happy and Holy Easter in the company of your loved ones and I hope that in their quiet reflection your sons show you their appreciation for the sacrifices you make for them each day.

God Bless.

Domenic Burgio
Principal