Don’t make me Bishop!
Hiding in a church just won't save you - Humility VII
December 7th is celebrated by Catholics as the feast
day of St. Ambrose. I’m a Protestant and
we don’t have saints. Not the official,
canonized kind of saints anyway.
But I do.
Most mornings I read about one of the Catholic saints. They are inspirational stories. Plenty of them came originally from wealth and privilege, but many didn’t. What seems true for a good number of them, at least from my amateurish observations, is the transformation many go through from being a lesser person to a much better person. A change occurs from being self-serving to being other-serving and self-sacrificial.
These saints were not perfect people, which is what gives me hope. I don’t aspire to be a saint, but I do aspire to be a better person.
We live in a world of judgment, and vitriol, and ad hominem
attacks – and this shrapnel is not only aimed at those who have continuing and
real personal and leadership issues, but also at well-meaning, well-lived,
trying-to-do-something-good people, regardless of party or position.
No wonder good people hesitate before taking the step into leadership and public service.
St. Ambrose wasn’t even a Christian when the Bishop of Milan
died in 374 A.D. in the midst of a serious church squabble. Some wanted a bishop who would support
Arianism, others one who supported Orthodox Trinitarianism (whatever the
differences were between those two just don’t seem to have much social media punch
these days – perhaps a lesson for us who live and die on the news cycle).
The streets were filled with rioters. Soon a chant arose for the popular nobleman Ambrose, who eschewed the opportunity - he actually hid until the emperor forced him out. He was quickly ordained, named the Bishop of Milan, and henceforth led a holy life, giving his land to the church and possessions to the poor. Through his work he became one of the four original “Doctors” of the Catholic church.
As Jim Collins writes in Good To Great , the best leaders, who he calls "Level 5 leaders", are both humble and have a powerful will.
We are all called to be a bit better tomorrow than we are today. Some, like the humble Ambrose, will answer the call, even reluctantly, and do something uniquely important with their lives. Some, no matter how gifted, will not.
Sometimes, sometimes, we simply need to hide less, and to do more.
That's fine, but just don't make me bishop.
Sources:
Christian History Institute, 12/7/17, Daily Story, Rioting Churchgoers Demanded Ambrose for Bishop, http://bit.ly/2y86cuM
Collins, J. C. (2001). Good to great: why some companies make the leap--and others don't
(1st ed.). New York, NY: HarperBusiness.
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