20140824 A PERSONAL FAITH IN CHRIST AS THE FOUNDATION OF
LEADERSHIP
Reading 1, Isaiah 22:15, 19-23
19 I shall hound you from your office, I shall snatch you
from your post
20 and, when that day comes, I shall summon my servant
Eliakim son of Hilkiah.
21 I shall dress him in your tunic, I shall put your sash
round his waist, I shall invest him with your authority; and he will be a father
to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to
the House of Judah.
22 I shall place the key of David's palace on his
shoulder; when he opens, no one will close, when
he closes, no one will open.
23 I shall drive him like a nail into a firm place; and he
will become a throne of glory for his
family.
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8
1 [Of David] I thank you, Yahweh, with all my heart, for
you have listened to the cry I uttered. In the presence of angels I sing to you,
2 I bow down before your holy Temple. I praise your name
for your faithful love and your constancy; your promises surpass even your
fame.
8 Yahweh will do all
things for me. Yahweh, your faithful love endures for ever, do not abandon what
you have made.
Gospel, Matthew 16:13-20
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi he put
this question to his disciples, 'Who do people say the Son of man is?'
14 And they said, 'Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.'
15 'But you,' he said, 'who do you say I am?'
17 Jesus replied, 'Simon son of Jonah, you are a blessed
man! Because it was no human agency that revealed this to you but my Father in
heaven.
18 So I now say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my
community. And the gates of the underworld can never overpower it.
19 I will give you
the keys of the kingdom of Heaven: whatever you bind on earth will be bound in
heaven; whatever you loose on earth will be loosed
in heaven.'
20 Then he gave the disciples strict orders not to say to
anyone that he was the Christ.
Reading 2, Romans 11:33-36
33 How rich and deep are the wisdom and the knowledge of
God! We cannot reach to the root of his decisions or his ways.
36 Everything there is comes from him and is caused by him and
exists for him. To him be glory for ever!
Amen.
A
PERSONAL FAITH IN CHRIST AS THE FOUNDATION OF LEADERSHIP
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: ISAIAH 22:19-23; ROMANS 11:33-36; MATTHEW 16:13-20
http://www.universalis.com/20140824/mass.htm
Leadership is critical
in any organization, human or divine. The survival of a nation or any group is dependent on its
leadership. An institution is as strong as its leaders. It is
said that there are no bad soldiers; only bad commanders. We need strong
leaders to train and form good soldiers. The scripture readings today
invite us to reflect on the appointment and exercise of leadership.
Instead of turning to
God, the leaders of Judah relied on alliance with pagan nations and military
defenses. They
ignored the voice of God spoken through Isaiah that God would defend the
city. Above all, they did not clean up the inner house of injustice and
idolatry. They lacked faith. And when in a state of hopelessness, they
fell into despair, eating and living as if there was no tomorrow. Instead
of repenting they chose to feast when attacked from every side.
What is significant is
that when leaders like Shebna, a high court official lacked faith, it affected
the rest of the country.
He was materialistic and self-seeking like the rest. He favored alliance
with foreigners instead of listening to Isaiah. Indeed, this is an
important lesson for us to learn as leaders. Very often leaders forget to
realize that not only do their words and decisions but their actions and
lifestyles affect and influence those under them considerably. The people
lost hope not only because of the Assyrians but because their own leaders fell
into despair and did not lead the way. For this reason, we must consider
carefully the kind of leaders we appoint to lead us.
Who then would qualify
as a Christian leader? What is the basis for Christian leadership?
First and foremost, leadership is a divine calling. In the world, people project and
sell themselves as leaders. They seek election into power. Some
even use unscrupulous means to acquire power. Christian leadership
however is by election and the will of God. It is not about
politics but a discernment of God’s call. God is the one who dismisses
and chooses, as in the case of Shebna and Eliakim. This is also true in
the appointment of Peter as the rock, the leader of the Church. “So I now
say to you: You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the
gates of the underworld can never hold out against it.” So one does
not choose to be a leader on the basis of one’s merits but one is called to
assume leadership by God who speaks through His people.
What, then, is the
primary task of a leader? He is called to be a father to the
community. He
represents the heavenly Father. He is the anointed one. “He shall be a
father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the House of Judah.”
Hence, the most important quality of a leader is compassion. He is
called to be a protector, defender and an encourager to those under his
trust. A leader is one who gives life to others, just as the father gives
life to his children. A leader seeks to protect his subordinates,
especially the weak and the marginalized, just as a father gives more attention
to the weaker children in his household.
Secondly, the task of a
leader is to preserve peace and unity and bring stability to the house. Indeed, the task of a leader is to
unite the different forces and elements under his charge. The most
challenging task of a leader is to ensure that there is peace, harmony and
unity. He is called to be a mediator and be a source of unity like our
Holy Father in the Catholic Church.
For this reason, a
leader needs to be vested with authority. This authority was given to St Peter
and the apostles when Jesus said, “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of
heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be considered bound in heaven;
whatever you loose on earth shall be considered loosed in heaven.” The
key refers to authority to carry out Church discipline, legislation and
administration. It concerns the power to judge and forgive
sins. It is also the authority to teach, to instruct and proclaim
the Word of God without error. All leaders therefore are installed or for
religious leaders, ordained, so that they have the rightful authority to teach
and discipline those under their care.
Authority is always for
service. The
moment one seeks authority to bolster his or her ego or use it for his or her
interests, that authority is abused. As it is said, power corrupts and
absolute power corrupts absolutely. We need to ensure that the authority
vested in us is never used in our favour or for our convenience but at the
service of the larger community and for the greater good of all.
Authority is exercised to bring unity and peace; not to divide or
control people.
What, then, are the
necessary qualities of a good Christian leader? The most important
quality is faith! He must be a man of deep faith in Christ. This faith must be a personal
faith. It cannot be borrowed or based on text books. Rather, it must be a
personal discovery, a realization and an encounter with Jesus. Anything
less than a personal encounter would mean that the faith of the person is in a
precarious position. That is why Jesus challenged the disciples, “’Who do
people say the Son of Man is?” And they said, ‘’Some say he is John the
Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’
he said ‘who do you say I am?’” Without a personal faith in Christ, we
cannot share Jesus with others convincingly. Most of all, in the
face of struggles and temptations, we will lose courage because of fear for our
lives and safety. We are not proclaiming the ideology of a dead man but a
living Christ.
Furthermore, this faith
in Jesus must be nothing less than faith in Jesus as the Son of God. Then Simon Peter spoke up, “You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God.” This is the rock of Peter’s faith.
All believers are joined to this Church by faith in Jesus as the savior when we
confess this same faith. Nothing less than a confession in the divinity
of Christ is required if we are to stay firm in times of trials and
scandals. If our faith is more than in a human person called Jesus, but
also that He is the Son of God, then we will be able to overcome all things in
life.
This faith is also faith
in Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection. It is not enough to believe in Jesus as
the Son of the Living God. That was the mistake of St Peter who could not
accept that the way to victory is through the cross. We must come to
faith in Jesus as the rock and foundation through the Paschal
Mystery. Thus, Jesus told His disciples not to publicize Peter’s
confession. The listeners must find out for themselves. It cannot
be from a secondary source. Until the paschal mystery happened, they needed to
grow in understanding of this confession of faith. St Peter got the right
answer but the wrong meaning.
Finally, as Church, we
are built on the foundation of the apostles with Jesus as the cornerstone. St Peter and St Paul founded
their faith on Christ who is the cornerstone of the Church. They built
the Church on the foundation of Christ alone. There is no other
foundation. We need to have faith in Peter who is the appointed leader of
the Church. He reveals the true identity of Christ to us, just as Jesus
revealed Peter’s identity and role to us. So our faith is also in fidelity
to the apostolic faith and not just our own.
Hence, as leaders, we
must not rely on our strength and ingenuity, thinking that we can do everything
without Christ and His Church. Thus, it is indispensable for leaders to pray and be in
union with God. A leader who does not pray and reflect will only operate
on the human wisdom of the world. He must be in close connection with
God, basking himself in His love, and penetrating the will of God for himself
and for his people. A leader must spend more time in prayer and
reflection if he were to lead as the anointed one of God. Otherwise, he will
only allow his ego, fear and human ingenuity to determine how he acts.
But when a leader is always praying and seeking to glorify God and working for
the good of his people, then his decisions will always be selfless,
life-giving, liberating and empowering.
Prayer strengthens our
faith in Christ the Son of the Living God since this realization is given
through revelation not by human reasoning. It is not by reason alone that we come to
God. On the contrary, faith is necessary to complement reason, for the
mysteries of God cannot be comprehended by man, especially His inner life and
His divine plan for humanity.
So as leaders we need
not be afraid of the future and of the responsibilities ahead of us. We
can trust in the faithfulness of God. The real problem is not whether God
is faithful to but whether we will trust Him enough to surrender our plans,
success and failure to His divine providence and wisdom. So let us
take heed and respond to the call of God for leadership. If God has
chosen us, He will qualify us.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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