29249813 LEARNING GODLY LEADERSHIP FROM MOSES
13 August 2025, Wednesday, 19th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Deuteronomy 34:1-12 |
Moses dies and is buried
Leaving the plains of Moab, Moses went up Mount Nebo, the peak of Pisgah opposite Jericho, and the Lord showed him the whole land; Gilead as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the Negeb, and the stretch of the Valley of Jericho, city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. The Lord said to him, ‘This is the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying: I will give it to your descendants. I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you shall not cross into it.’ There in the land of Moab, Moses the servant of the Lord died as the Lord decreed; he buried him in the valley, in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor; but to this day no one has ever found his grave. Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, his eye undimmed, his vigour unimpaired. The sons of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab for thirty days. The days of weeping for the mourning rites of Moses came to an end. Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him. It was he that the sons of Israel obeyed, carrying out the order that the Lord had given to Moses.
Since then, never has there been such a prophet in Israel as Moses, the man the Lord knew face to face. What signs and wonders the Lord caused him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh and all his servants and his whole land! How mighty the hand and great the fear that Moses wielded in the sight of all Israel!
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 65(66):1-3,5,16-17 |
Blessed be God, who gave life to my soul.
Cry out with joy to God all the earth,
O sing to the glory of his name.
O render him glorious praise.
Say to God: ‘How tremendous your deeds!’
Blessed be God, who gave life to my soul.
Come and see the works of God,
tremendous his deeds among men.
Come and hear, all who fear God.
I will tell what he did for my soul:
to him I cried aloud,
with high praise ready on my tongue.
Blessed be God, who gave life to my soul.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps110:7,8 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your precepts, O Lord, are all of them sure;
they stand firm for ever and ever.
Alleluia!
Or: | 2Co5:19 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself,
and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 18:15-20 |
If your brother listens to you, you have won back your brother
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘If your brother does something wrong, go and have it out with him alone, between your two selves. If he listens to you, you have won back your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you: the evidence of two or three witnesses is required to sustain any charge. But if he refuses to listen to these, report it to the community; and if he refuses to listen to the community, treat him like a pagan or a tax collector.
‘I tell you solemnly, whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.
‘I tell you solemnly once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.’
LEARNING GODLY LEADERSHIP FROM MOSES
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Dt 34:1-12; Ps 66:1-3,5,16-17; Mt 18:15-20]
In today’s first reading, the final chapter of the book of Deuteronomy recounts the conclusion of Moses’ life and leadership. The legacy and mark he left behind are summed up in the last paragraph: “Since then, never has there been such a prophet in Israel as Moses, the man the Lord knew face to face.”
It is significant that although Moses fulfilled many roles – judge, priest, ruler, and lawgiver – in both his own mind and that of the narrator, he was remembered by the people primarily as the paradigmatic prophet. Indeed, he himself had prophesied, “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you shall heed such a prophet. I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to them everything that I command.” (Dt 18:15,18)
What made him the greatest prophet? Two things stood out in Moses.” Firstly, Moses was an exceptional prophet because no other prophet enjoyed such intimacy with the Lord – Scripture says the Lord knew him “face to face.” Moses had a direct and intimate relationship with God, without the need for an intermediary (cf Ex 33:11; Num 12:6-8). A true prophet must always be in communion with God; unless he speaks to God regularly and listens attentively to Him, his words will be his own rather than God’s. Moses was also a visionary, because God gave him the vision of leading His people to the Promised Land.
The second reason given was the “signs and wonders the Lord caused him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh and all his servants and his whole land! How mighty the hand and great the fear that Moses wielded in the sight of all Israel!” No other prophet performed such spectacular signs and wonders before Pharaoh and all his servants to demonstrate the mighty power of God. In performing these signs, Moses never attributed the power to himself but to God who acted through him. Moreover, these signs and wonders not only revealed God’s divine plan for the sons of Israel but also authenticated Moses as the indisputable prophet and servant of God. He never claimed any glory for himself. Indeed, earlier, in teaching the people how to authenticate a true prophet, he said, “If a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord but the thing does not take place or prove true, it is a word that the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; do not be frightened by it.” (Dt 18:22)
But there were also other aspects of Moses’ life and pastoral ministry that made him a model prophet. All those who are called to serve the Lord are likewise called to emulate his passion for the mission God entrusted to him. Moses was faithful to his calling. He sought only to obey God’s will and urged others to respond to His divine grace and mercy with wholehearted obedience to the Word of God. As a good shepherd, Moses guided the people to walk in the path of righteousness. He walked with them through the valley of darkness, exhorted them to repent when they sinned, and pleaded for God’s mercy for them when they rebelled against God. Like a good shepherd, he provided nourishment and rest. He carried their anxieties, fears and complaints, even when misunderstood and accused by his own people of leading them to the desert to die.
In his leadership, he consistently reminded both his leaders and the people to obey the laws God had given them. “So now, Israel, give heed to the statutes and ordinances that I am teaching you to observe, so that you may live to enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it. You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!'” (Dt 4:1f; 6) Leaders must be ready to teach the people to be obedient to God’s words without compromise.
Most of all, Moses is remembered as the most humble and meek man on the earth, especially when Miriam and Aaron spoke out against him. God was angry with them and punished them. The author describes Moses as very humble “more so than anyone else on the face of the earth.” (Num 12:3) He was neither self-serving or egoistic, nor did he pander to the popular desires of the people. Notably, despite all the great things he had done for Israel, at his death he refused to erect monuments in his own honour. We read, “Here in the land of Moab, Moses the servant of the Lord died as the Lord decreed; he buried him in the valley, in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor; but to this day no one has ever found his grave.” He did not want to claim any honour for himself; rather, all glory must go to God alone, who gave him the grace to work signs and wonders in His name.
Finally, Moses knew how to retire from leadership gracefully. He was happy to have served the Lord and to step down when the Lord deemed it time. With humility and obedience, he accepted God’s will that he would not enter the Promised Land. All the Lord granted him was the sight of it. “Moses went up Mount Nebo, the peak of Pisgah opposite Jericho, and the Lord showed him the whole land. The Lord said to him, ‘This is the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, saying: I will give it to your descendants. I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you shall not cross into it.” In Hebrew law, having sight of something is to gain legal possession of it even if it is not yet in one’s hands. By looking out over the land, Moses was given the unique privilege of legally acquiring it on behalf of the people, although it would be another forty years before for the Kingdom of Israel was fully realized.
So gracious was Moses that he did not feel the need to enter the Promised Land himself. He was content to behold it. He was not angry with God’s decision. This is true for all leaders, for we are just laying one stone upon the foundation of another. It does not matter whether we will see the project realized in our lifetime. What matters is that we have played our part in laying the foundation. We do not need to enjoy the rewards or fruits of our labour ourselves; simply knowing that we have contributed to the fulfilment of a vision should bring us great joy and happiness.
However, if we think Moses was a perfect servant of God, we would be mistaken. If he were so, then we cannot imitate him because we know that we are far from perfect in our conduct and decision-making. Alongside his many virtues, Moses also had his weaknesses. He was not faultless, and the Bible makes no attempt to cover up his human failures. Like all leaders, he struggled in fulfilling God’s will.
In Deuteronomy, Moses bitterly tells the Israelites three times that God has punished him by denying him entry into the Promised Land (Dt 1:37, 3:26, 4:21), because of both the people’s sins of rebellion and his own. God wanted to teach him a lesson in personal accountability. We are not too sure whether this punishment stemmed from one specific event or multiple instances. Perhaps it was because he lost his temper when the people grumbled about the lack of water. Instead of speaking to the rock and commanding water to flow, he struck the rock with his rod in anger against the people. Rather than relying patiently on God’s power, as God is patient with His people, Moses disobeyed God’s command. So, it may have been his arrogance and bitterness that grieved God. He failed to be a sign of unity and reconciliation.
Consequently, as leaders, we must heed Jesus’ reminder in the Gospel to be mindful of our actions, lest our pride and lack of repentance cause others to stumble. As leaders, we are called to lead exemplary lives – serving with humility and selflessness, and showing patience toward those who are weak or cause division within our community. Our anger and impatience can cause more hurts to those we seek to reconcile with God and the community. We need to transcend those weakness because leadership is leadership by example. We must seek God’s grace and demonstrate God’s compassion and forgiveness as we continue to reach out to sinners because Jesus asked us to forgive seventy-seven times. We must never give up hope on sinners because, through prayer, God can change even the hardest hearts. “If two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three meet in my name, I shall be there with them.”
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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