20150113 AUTHORITY REQUIRES AN INTEGRATION OF THE THREEFOLD OFFICE
Readings at Mass
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First reading
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Hebrews 2:5-12 ©
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God did not appoint
angels to be rulers of the world to come, and that world is what we are talking
about. Somewhere there is a passage that shows us this. It runs: What is man
that you should spare a thought for him, the son of man that you should care for
him? For a short while you made him lower than the angels; you crowned him with
glory and splendour. You have put him in command of everything. Well then,
if he has put him in command of everything, he has left nothing which is
not under his command. At present, it is true, we are not able to see that everything
has been put under his command, but we do see in Jesus one who was for a
short while made lower than the angels and is now crowned with glory and
splendour because he submitted to death; by God’s grace he had to
experience death for all mankind.
As it was
his purpose to bring a great many of his sons into glory, it was appropriate
that God, for whom everything exists and through whom everything exists, should
make perfect, through suffering, the leader who would take them to their
salvation. For the one who sanctifies, and the ones who are sanctified, are of
the same stock; that is why he openly calls them brothers in the text: I
shall announce your name to my brothers, praise you in full assembly.
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Psalm
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Psalm 8:2,5-9 ©
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You gave your Son
power over the works of your hand.
How great is your
name, O Lord our God,
through
all the earth!
What is man that you
should keep him in mind,
mortal
man that you care for him?
You gave your Son
power over the works of your hand.
Yet you have made him
little less than a god;
with
glory and honour you crowned him,
gave him power over
the works of your hand,
put all
things under his feet.
You gave your Son
power over the works of your hand.
All of them, sheep
and cattle,
yes, even
the savage beasts,
birds of the air, and
fish
that make
their way through the waters.
You gave your Son
power over the works of your hand.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Jm1:21
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept and submit to
the word
which has been
planted in you
and can save your
souls.
Alleluia!
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Or
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cf.1Th2:13
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept God’s message
for what it really is:
God’s message, and
not some human thinking.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 1:21-28 ©
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Jesus and his
followers went as far as Capernaum, and as soon as the sabbath came he went to
the synagogue and began to teach. And his teaching made a deep impression on
them because, unlike the scribes, he taught them with authority.
In
their synagogue just then there was a man possessed by an unclean spirit and it
shouted, ‘What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy
us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus said sharply, ‘Be
quiet! Come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit threw the man into convulsions
and with a loud cry went out of him. The people were so astonished that they
started asking each other what it all meant. ‘Here is a teaching that is new’
they said ‘and with authority behind it: he gives orders even to unclean
spirits and they obey him.’ And his reputation rapidly spread everywhere,
through all the surrounding Galilean countryside.
AUTHORITY
REQUIRES AN INTEGRATION OF THE THREEFOLD OFFICE
SCRIPTURE
READINGS: HEB 2:5-12; MARK 1:21-28
In the first reading, we
read of the greatness of man’s vocation. We are created less than God but
more than the angels. The author wrote, “God did not appoint angels to be rulers of
the world to come, and that world is what we are talking about. Somewhere
there is a passage that shows us this. It runs: What is man that you
should spare a thought for him, the son of man that you should care for him?
For a short while you made him lower than the angels; you crowned him with
glory and splendour.” This sense of wonder is the same sentiment
expressed by the psalmist in the responsorial psalm.
The reason why we are
created as such is because God wants us to share in His creative power and to
rule with Him. “You
have put him in command of everything. Well then, if he has put him in command
of everything, he has left nothing which is not under his command.”
Indeed, as spirit and body, we have the best of both worlds. We can enjoy
creation and at the same time share in the Spirit, the life and love of God.
This is the calling of every man.
But humanity had lost
its calling, direction and identity. Instead of ruling creation
we have abused the trust given to us. We have destroyed creation and
become slaves of creation. Instead of living the life of God and the
angels, we have reduced ourselves to animals without a conscience and unable to
live intelligently and wisely.
Christ our Good shepherd
leads us back to our true identity as children of God through the threefold
office of teaching, sanctifying and governing. By virtue of our baptismal calling, we
are called to exercise the threefold office of teaching, guiding and
sanctifying. We are called to be shepherd, teacher and priest. This
three office is very much inter-related. The real crisis today is the
tendency to separate one office from the other or to exercise one without the
other two. In other words, some try to be minister without preaching; and some
preach without ministering; and finally some want to govern without first
teaching and ministering. Effective authority in governing presupposes
ministering; and ministering depends on preaching.
This explains why for the
bishop, the pride of place goes to teaching and proclamation, as bishops
have the duty to ensure that the truth is taught. He is the chief teacher
of the diocese. There can be no conversion without proclamation.
The kerygma must first be proclaimed before we can speak of the role of
sanctifying. So too, when a priest celebrates Mass, he is
ordinarily the preacher. A priest is called first and foremost to
be a teacher and an evangelizer. Without first enlightening the flock
under his charge, he cannot instruct them or help them grow in holiness and in
union with Christ. The role of sanctifying and governing presumes that
the flock is already converted to Christ and is constantly being converted to
the Lord day after day. This is equally true for the baptized
Christian who is called to exercise the teaching authority. Whether as
parent, teacher or leader, we are called to teach and instruct those under our
care. The most important instruction is not just to teach them skills but
to teach them values, such as truth, honesty, integrity, compassion, generosity
and service. When we abdicate our role as teacher, we would not be able
to effectively govern those under our charge.
What does it take to be
a good teacher? One must teach with authority. We read in the gospel that “And his
teaching made a deep impression on them because, unlike the scribes, he taught
them with authority.” What then is the authority of a teacher based
on? He needs personal authority. It is not enough to rest on just
paper qualifications or appointment to an office. Such juridical
qualification is important to vouch the authenticity of the person.
But this does not replace personal authority. In order to teach, the
teacher must know the way and the truth himself. If Jesus could teach
with authority, it is because He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Intellectual knowledge and a good grasp of the doctrines of our faith can help
one to be a good teacher. But without personal conviction and
interiorization of one’s faith, one cannot preach with authority as one’s
knowledge is a second-hand knowledge and not based on one’s own personal
experience.
Secondly, a good teacher
must be in touched with the daily life struggles and the pains of humanity
so that he can be a compassionate high priest. In the first reading,
speaking about Jesus, the author wrote, “For the one who sanctifies, and the
ones who are sanctified, are of the same stock; that is why he openly calls
them brothers in the text: I shall announce your name to my brothers, praise
you in full assembly.” Jesus is qualified to be our leader of
salvation because not only does He show us the Way but He walks the way.
The lack of touch with the grassroots and our people is the cause of lack of
trust and often misunderstanding. When leaders no longer feel with the
people under their care, they can no longer touch them or lead them.
Hence, Pope Francis tells us that we need to smell the sheep so that we can
effectively help them in their struggles and problems in life.
In the final analysis,
it is our way of life, our examples and personal witnessing that make for
effective teaching. Students
are inspired not so much by what we say but what we believe in and how we live
out our beliefs. There must be a synthesis between what we believe
and what we do. In other words, there must be integrity of
life. Doing flows from being. Before we teach we must first
be in command of ourselves. Jesus was a man of integrity.
Pope Paul VI often says, we
need more witnesses rather than teachers. We need to lead the way and walk
the way, as the author of Hebrew says. “As it was his purpose to bring a
great many of his sons into glory, it was appropriate that God, for whom
everything exists and through whom everything exists, should make perfect,
through suffering, the leader who would take them to their salvation.” People
must see that we believe and live what we preach. As St Paul says
to the Philippians, “My brothers, be united in following my rule of life. Take
as your models everybody who is already doing this and study them as you used
to study us. I have told you often, and I repeat it today with tears, there are
many who are behaving as the enemies of the cross of Christ. They are destined
to be lost.” (Phil 3:17-18) At the ordination of a deacon, the candidate is
instructed as the gospel is handed over to him, to “believe what you read,
teach what you believe and practice what you preach.”
This calls for training,
discipline and study. There
is no easy way to master control over ourselves but through the cross, like
Jesus who learned obedience through suffering. We read, “we do see in Jesus one
who was for a short while made lower than the angels and is now crowned with
glory and splendour because he submitted to death; by God’s grace he had to
experience death for mankind.” One cannot aspire to be a good leader
unless he is well instructed by doctrines and grounded in faith and
discipline. In other words, we must be disciples before we are apostles.
Only then we can lead and guide by teaching in words and personal examples.
We are called to imitate
Jesus who taught with personal authority. “The people were so astonished that they
started asking each other what it all meant. ‘Here is a teaching that is
new’ they said ‘and with authority behind it: he gives orders even to unclean
spirits and they obey him.’ And his reputation rapidly spread everywhere,
through all the surrounding Galilean countryside.” Indeed, people will
respect us and believe us only by our personal authority. We command
respect not by juridical authority but personal authority.
When we have this kind
of authority, even the evil spirits fear us, as they did before Jesus, for we read, “Jesus said
sharply, ‘be quiet! Come out of him!’ And the unclean spirit threw the
man into convulsions and with a loud cry went out of him.” The evil
spirits fear those who live a life of integrity because Jesus says that Satan
is the Father of lies. That is why before a priest could be appointed to
perform exorcism, the exorcist must spend time in prayer to strengthen his
faith and put his life in order.
In conclusion,
therefore, if we want to teach with authority, to be a true member of the royal
priesthood, we must first be a true teacher in word and deed. Only those who have given their lives
to the people under their care and have gained their respect and trust can
govern effectively. Otherwise, those under them will be skeptical of
whatever they say and doubt their integrity. However, if they have
won them over by their lives and sacrificial love for them, they will listen,
because they know that they could be trusted. Integrity of life,
knowledge, teaching, and living a life of self-sacrifice must go together
before one can truly govern. This is why each of the threefold office
flows from the other and complement each other. One cannot exercise
one aspect of the office without the others.
WRITTEN BY THE MOST REV
WILLIAM GOH
ARCHBISHOP
OF SINGAPORE
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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