St. Mary Roman Catholic Church in Kingman shared some thoughts on the leadership of Jesus in the Nov. 8 bulletin.

"In Christian teaching, pharisaic behavior has become synonymous with hypocrisy or double standards," the Rev. Victor Yakubu, parochial administrator, said in the bulletin. "This attitude affects all religious endeavors because it is difficult to separate the 'sheep' from the 'wolves.'"

Jesus intended to lead by example and expected the same from those who were teaching individuals of normal vocations. He constantly condemned those who failed to live in a way that they expected others to.

The call to follow Jesus is not a simple one and was in fact difficult for many, but this is just as it was for our Lord. He did not embrace the luxurious things in the world but gave them all up in order to be a teacher who set the perfect example.

"When he came, he met a system filled with attitudes such as those of the scribes and the Pharisees who assumed big titles and wore beautiful dresses, yet their words were empty," Yakubu said. "The people lacked direction in leadership. Although the people waited for centuries, the Messiah would lead by example to save the nation from shame. Change came with humility by the sacrifice that has taken away the sins of the proud and haughty."

Jesus was not the political savior that the world was hoping for; rather, he was the spiritual Messiah. But beyond just that, he was God himself, come down from heaven to offer all of humanity the redemption that they so desperately required. 

"Over 35% of the world's 7 billion inhabitants of the world have accepted the Way of Jesus," Fr. Yakubu said. "Of the 2.4 billion Christians that live on the face of the earth, the work of Jesus continues to shine in the dark recesses of hopelessness, hypocrisy and double standards. As ambassadors, Christians are taught to be 'the light of the world' and 'the salt of the earth.'"