20250826 BOLDNESS IN LEADERSHIP-MINISTRY
26 August 2025, Tuesday, 21st Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 |
We were eager to hand over to you not only the Good News but our whole lives
You know yourselves, my brothers, that our visit to you has not proved ineffectual.
We had, as you know, been given rough treatment and been grossly insulted at Philippi, and it was our God who gave us the courage to proclaim his Good News to you in the face of great opposition. We have not taken to preaching because we are deluded, or immoral, or trying to deceive anyone; it was God who decided that we were fit to be entrusted with the Good News, and when we are speaking, we are not trying to please men but God, who can read our inmost thoughts. You know very well, and we can swear it before God, that never at any time have our speeches been simply flattery, or a cover for trying to get money; nor have we ever looked for any special honour from men, either from you or anybody else, when we could have imposed ourselves on you with full weight, as apostles of Christ.
Instead, we were unassuming. Like a mother feeding and looking after her own children, we felt so devoted and protective towards you, and had come to love you so much, that we were eager to hand over to you not only the Good News but our whole lives as well.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 138(139):1-3,4-6 |
O Lord, you search me and you know me.
O Lord, you search me and you know me,
you know my resting and my rising,
you discern my purpose from afar.
O Lord, you search me and you know me.
You mark when I walk or lie down,
all my ways lie open to you.
Before ever a word is on my tongue
you know it, O Lord, through and through.
O Lord, you search me and you know me.
Behind and before you besiege me,
your hand ever laid upon me.
Too wonderful for me this knowledge,
too high, beyond my reach.
O Lord, you search me and you know me.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Ac16:14 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Open our heart, O Lord,
to accept the words of your Son.
Alleluia!
Or: | Heb4:12 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 23:23-26 |
Clean the inside of the cup first, so that the outside may become clean
Jesus said: ‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who pay your tithe of mint and dill and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law – justice, mercy, good faith! These you should have practised, without neglecting the others. You blind guides! Straining out gnats and swallowing camels!
‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who clean the outside of cup and dish and leave the inside full of extortion and intemperance. Blind Pharisee! Clean the inside of cup and dish first so that the outside may become clean as well.’
BOLDNESS IN LEADERSHIP-MINISTRY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 TH 2:1-8; PS 139:1-3,4-6; MT 23:23-26]
In the first reading, St Paul showed boldness in his ministry to the people. In spite of being stripped, flogged, thrown into prison, and badly treated in Philippi for “advocating customs that are not lawful” (Acts 16:20-24), he still came to Thessalonica to proclaim the Gospel. Even with a bruised and battered body, he did not allow persecution from his enemies to stop him from proclaiming the Gospel. Yet, from within, some accused him of insincerity and of having less than noble motives in his ministry. They claimed that he was deluded, driven by impure motives, and deceiving others. Some even alleged that he used flattering speech to gain popularity and advantage for himself. In other words, they implied that Paul exploited the Gospel for self-interest and for money while pretending to care for the people.
In the light of such opposition, both from within and without, Paul sought to defend his integrity in the proclamation of the Gospel. This stands in stark contrast to many of us who are so-called preachers of the Gospel and collaborators in the vineyard of the Lord. When faced with opposition and slander, we often give up easily or become cowed, failing to proclaim the Gospel without compromise to the truth of the Word of God. Many of us today cannot endure rejection or humiliation in proclaiming the Gospel, much less imprisonment or physical suffering. When parishioners insult us, falsely accuse us, or suggest that we act out of impure motives, we tend to react angrily and strike back harshly.
What does it take to remain faithful to our calling and, above all, to the Word of God which we have received? Firstly, boldness in preaching the Gospel and in ministry comes from sincerity and a life of integrity. It must flow from pure motives. Indeed, we need to examine ourselves and search our hearts to discern the true motives behind the ministry we undertake–whether it is for the people of God and ultimately for Christ, or for ourselves. Too often, our motives are mixed, and when they are exposed, we become defensive. This was also the case with the scribes and Pharisees in today’s Gospel. They presented themselves as though they were the only ones who were truly obedient to the Law of Moses. They were meticulous in explaining how the laws were to be applied concretely in matters such as tithing and ritual cleanliness. But Jesus exposed their insincerity, for they were satisfied with mere externals. Outwardly they appeared righteous, but inwardly their hearts were impure. They were more concerned with appearances than with true purity of heart. This is why the Lord rebuked them: “You who clean the outside of cup and dish and leave the inside full of extortion and intemperance. Blind Pharisees! Clean the inside of cup and dish first so that the outside may become clean as well.”
If we want to teach the Gospel, we must always purify our intentions so that our hearts remain pure and free from self-interest. Only with a sincere and upright heart can we proclaim the Gospel without compromise, neither altering the content of the Christian message nor speaking merely to please the world at the expense of fidelity to the Word of God. A true preacher of the Gospel is one who is ready to proclaim it even at the cost of personal renunciation and suffering, so that the truth may be transmitted without dilution. The Second Vatican Council, in its Declaration on Religious Freedom (Dignitatis Humanae), reminds preachers: “From the very beginnings of the Church the disciples of Christ strove to convert men to confess Christ as Lord, not however by applying coercion or with the use of techniques unworthy of the Gospel but, above all, by the power of the word of God” (DH 11). For St. Paul, his mission was not to please men but to please God. His concern was never to make himself the centre of attention, but to bring glory to God. Likewise, we must not short-change the demands of the Gospel in order to gain acceptance from the world.
Secondly, boldness in ministry flows from love. St. Paul could have exercised his rights by asserting the full weight of his apostolic authority and by claiming financial support from the community (cf. 1 Cor 9:14). Yet he chose not to. Instead, he handed on the Gospel message and laboured with the disinterested love and tender dedication of a nursing mother. As he himself wrote: “Instead, we were unassuming. Like a mother feeding and looking after her own children, we felt so devoted and protective towards you, and had come to love you so much, that we were eager to hand over to you not only the Good News but our whole lives as well.” St. John Chrysostom, putting himself in St. Paul’s place, comments: “It is true that I preached the Gospel to you in obedience to a commandment from God; but I love you with so great a love that I would have been ready to die for you. That is the perfect model of sincere, genuine love.”
This truth is reiterated by our Lord in today’s Gospel regarding what God values most. Above all, He values “justice, mercy, and good faith.” The scribes and Pharisees were overly concerned with the minutiae of tithing and the technicalities of taking oaths, yet they ignored the weightier matters of mercy and justice. It is not wrong to observe the finer points of the law, but we must always keep a sense of proportion. Jesus highlighted the absurdity of their priorities: they strained out a gnat from a glass of water, yet “swallowed camels” by cheating and deceiving people of their money, all while being scrupulous about offering their “tithe of mint, dill, and cumin, but neglecting the weightier matters of the Law.” In the end, the true criterion of judgment is whether our actions spring from purity of intention and whether they take into account the circumstances of life. As Jesus reminded His disciples, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” The laws of Moses were meant to guide us toward righteous living so that justice and compassion might prevail in the community. Such justice and compassion are essential for uniting God’s people in love and truth.
As a consequence, Paul’s ministry was not in vain, even though it involved much suffering. He wrote: “You know yourselves, my brothers, that our visit to you has not proved ineffectual.” What gave him such confidence? It was his union with Christ, through which he shared in the sufferings of Christ on the Cross. Paul regarded his life and ministry as being crucified with Christ. For this reason, he was judged that his ministry was pleasing to God. As he declared: “It was God who decided that we were fit to be entrusted with the Good News, and when we are speaking, we are not trying to please men but God, who can read our inmost thoughts.” When our motives are pure–when everything we do is united with Jesus, for the glory of God and the salvation of His people–then we too can stand firm and steadfast, even in the face of suffering and opposition in our ministry.
The real reason many of us give up ministry in the face of challenges is because we are not carrying it out in union with Christ. Too often, we think we are doing it with our own strength for Christ. Hence, when challenged and opposed, we feel disheartened and defeated. But if we serve with Christ, then we must be ready to share in His suffering, just as St. Peter reminds us: “Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God’s will, than to suffer for doing evil. For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God” (1 Pt 3:14-18).
So let us seek to purify our motives in serving the Lord. Only God, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, can help us examine the sincerity of our actions when we open our hearts to His Word. As the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us: “Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account” (Heb 4:12f).
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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