…Leading parishes in mission when the house is on fire.

3rd c. AD painting of Esther and Mordecai, Syria. Public Domain.

“For such a time as this” comes from the Book of Esther. Mordecai, her older cousin, encourages Esther, the Jewish queen of Persia to step up and advocate for the imperiled Jewish people, at the possible cost of her life. As he says to her in Esther 4:14: “Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this.”

I use this line to encourage pastors and lay leaders in parishes that despite the freefall of people leaving the faith for nothing at all, they have come to religious leadership for such a time as this. God knew what our culture, our parishes, and our challenges would be. And he lifted us up to lead in such a time as this.

Esther 4:14 is an encouraging, inspired line that reminds Christians of our baptism (we were each baptized priest, prophet, and King) and for some, their ordination. But standing up to our secular age is one thing. Now, in the United States…there seems to be so much more.

Way back in 2021…

I was at a regional event, hosted by a worldwide evangelization organization, for lay and ordained in church leadership. It was ecumenical in nature, and while there was a focus on emerging out of Covid, every challenge from the past decade got thrown on the table. I was surprised by how many of the ministers–in this safe place–shared that the political realities of the past year were a disaster in the local Church. Church members were divided, angry, demanding the pastor take sides and condemn the others from the pulpit, sowing lies and disunity. Sometimes after offering open slander, some people left the Church for weeks, and then slipped back in like nothing had happened. (And before you think, oh, this must be a bunch of liberal churches and pastors upset by Trump, you have to trust me: they were not. If anything, this gathering leaned conservative.) I’m honestly not sure where these leaders stood politically. But I am sure they were wounded by the political wildfires. And they were wondering how to mend a church community that was identifying more with politics than Jesus, peddling hate over love.

It’s difficult. It’s not like our political life has no bearing on people’s lives…it does. It’s also the case that our major political parties are deeply, deeply flawed and do not reflect the fullness of Catholic teaching. We cannot entirely disengage, for the sake of our neighbors. But the situation seems almost designed to bite us at this point. Engaging with our political life can feel like engaging with a rabid dog.

So the fires described at that meeting have flared again–if they ever went out.

And God called you to leadership at this moment.

For such a time as this?

I have to admit that I have been tempted to deep sadness the last two weeks. It seems clear that we are in a socially disruptive time. There are questions about the economy, our social welfare system, and so much more. Specific to our apostolate’s work, social disruption and insecurity makes parishes nervous about the immediate future, and hunker down. I have definitely prayed, “Really, Lord? Parishes tend to refocus on mission when they sense a certain calm in church life, a time where they can focus. Why did you lead us to create this apostolate right now, in division and disruption?”

But in that prayer, I remembered: The incarnation of God occurred at a supremely disruptive time in human history. The launch of the fulfillment of the covenant occurred at an inopportune time, by our standards:

• Israel was occupied by an Empire who hated them.
• There were puppet kings (Herod) who nonetheless had power to kill all the male children of a town because of a rumored threat to his power.
• Jews across Israel (Sadducees, Pharisees, Scribes, Essenes, city Jews, rural Jews) were completely divided on how to address the political situation.
• There was injustice, poverty, and threats of violence.
• The Jewish leaders had their own deep theological challenges amongst themselves.

Apparently the Lord God thought that was the perfect time to send his Son into the world to save us from our sin.

But the marks of God’s provision have been all over the birth of The Mark 5:19 Project. And I am willing to say that if the turn of the age was the perfect time for God’s mission to save us, then we live in a perfectly good time to carry on that message. The evangelic mission is needed for such a time as this.

Moving forward into the fire

After all, what did Jesus do? His entire life, death, and resurrection was about drawing people to God the Father. He saw everyone’s humanity and how much the Father loved them and wanted salvation for them. He crossed boundaries of all sorts–men and women, Jews and Gentiles, Roman supporters and Roman despisers. Division made his life difficult but it didn’t stop him or the Lord God’s mission.

Though it may be difficult, we need parishes that are modeling what is most important. That is, that we need to place God first, repent, acknowledge we are all sinners in need of a savior, and our God calls us to love, forgive, and support our neighbors in need. We need a place where we are loved and are called to love. We need to give witness to a different way.

If you are a pastor, or a lay leader in a parish, you were called to lead in such a time as this. God will give you what you need. But we need to recognize that this is a time for apostolic leadership: that is, you are sent to this people and this time. Lead by example, lead by naming the division that destroys love, lead with listening and compassion, lead by pointing to Jesus Christ, and lead by calling to repentance. We are called to a depth of Christian hope that can only come from God himself. Let’s start with prayer. Then let’s offer the clear, tonic, bracing truth of the Christian faith that God is love, and his love is for all human beings. The people we lead deserve no less than that truth.

Do not doubt that you were called for such a time as this, and we can lead people to God’s goodness and justice. Pray for the faith and grace to chart your path.

Coming soon: What does apostolic leadership look like?

Specifically for pastors who are readers…if you need to talk to someone about pastoral leadership in the current context, please feel free to reach out for a free and confidential conversation. These are extreme times for many, and a human conversation with someone who wants what is best for you and your parish can go a long way. Contact me and we’ll set up a time to talk.