CHOOSING OUR COLLABORATORS

20160122 CHOOSING OUR COLLABORATORS

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading

1 Samuel 24:3-21 ©

Saul took three thousand men chosen from the whole of Israel and went in search of David and his men east of the Rocks of the Wild Goats. He came to the sheepfolds along the route where there was a cave, and went in to cover his feet. Now David and his men were sitting in the recesses of the cave; David’s men said to him, Today is the day of which the Lord said to you, “I will deliver your enemy into your power, do what you like with him.”’ David stood up and, unobserved, cut off the border of Saul’s cloak. Afterwards David reproached himself for having cut off the border of Saul’s cloak. He said to his men, ‘The Lord preserve me from doing such a thing to my lord and raising my hand against him, for he is the anointed of the Lord.’ David gave his men strict instructions, forbidding them to attack Saul.

  Saul then left the cave and went on his way. After this, David too left the cave and called after Saul, ‘My lord king!’ Saul looked behind him and David bowed to the ground and did homage. Then David said to Saul, ‘Why do you listen to the men who say to you, “David means to harm you”? Why, your own eyes have seen today how the Lord put you in my power in the cave and how I refused to kill you, but spared you. “I will not raise my hand against my lord,” I said “for he is the anointed of the Lord.” O my father, see, look at the border of your cloak in my hand. Since I cut off the border of your cloak, yet did not kill you, you must acknowledge frankly that there is neither malice nor treason in my mind. I have not offended against you, yet you hunt me down to take my life. May the Lord be judge between me and you, and may the Lord avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be laid on you. (As the old proverb says: Wickedness goes out from the wicked, and my hand will not be laid on you.) On whose trail has the king of Israel set out? On whose trail are you in hot pursuit? On the trail of a dead dog! On the trail of a single flea! May the Lord be the judge and decide between me and you; may he take up my cause and defend it and give judgement for me, freeing me from your power.’

  When David had finished saying these words to Saul, Saul said, ‘Is that your voice, my son David?’ And Saul wept aloud. ‘You are a more upright man than I,’ he said to David ‘for you have repaid me with good while I have repaid you with evil. Today you have crowned your goodness towards me since the Lord had put me in your power yet you did not kill me. When a man comes on his enemy, does he let him go unmolested? May the Lord reward you for the goodness you have shown me today. Now I know you will indeed reign and that the sovereignty in Israel will be secure in your hands.’

Psalm

Psalm 56:2-4,6,11 ©

Have mercy on me, God, have mercy.

Have mercy on me, God, have mercy

  for in you my soul has taken refuge.

In the shadow of your wings I take refuge

  till the storms of destruction pass by.

Have mercy on me, God, have mercy.

I call to God the Most High,

  to God who has always been my help.

May he send from heaven and save me

  and shame those who assail me.

Have mercy on me, God, have mercy.

O God, arise above the heavens;

  may your glory shine on earth!

for your love reaches to the heavens

  and your truth to the skies.

Have mercy on me, God, have mercy.

Gospel Acclamation

cf.2Th2:14

Alleluia, alleluia!

Through the Good News God called us

to share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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

Mark 3:13-19 ©

Jesus went up into the hills and summoned those he wanted. So they came to him and he appointed twelve; they were to be his companions and to be sent out to preach, with power to cast out devils. And so he appointed the Twelve: Simon to whom he gave the name Peter, James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom he gave the name Boanerges or ‘Sons of Thunder’; then Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, the man who was to betray him.

CHOOSING OUR COLLABORATORS

SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1 SM 24:3-21; Ps 56:2-4, 6, 11; Mk 3:13-19

In the gospel, we read how “Jesus went up into the hills and summoned those he wanted.”  It was time for Him to form a community of disciples and collaborators for the mission.  He knew that He could not accomplish this mission all by Himself.  Thus, in order to grow the community and ensure that the mission would continue even after His death, He chose the twelve apostles.  As leaders too, we need collaborators.  Leaders cannot achieve much when they work alone, because we are limited in many ways.  The question is, how do we choose our collaborators?  What criteria should we use for selecting people to help us achieve our goals?

Right from the outset, before we can even think of choosing our collaborators, the leader must be clear about himself and what he wants to offer to his people.  He cannot be a leader unless he has a clear vision and a powerful message and mission.  Jesus was a visionary.  He wanted to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.   He wanted to bring all men into one big family of God.  His message was simple; that God loves us and has reconciled us to Himself. This love and mercy of God would be demonstrated by the miracles of healing, exorcism and most of all, forgiveness.  As leaders, we too must first ask ourselves and clarify for ourselves what is our vision for humanity, and the message that we want to put across; and how this message must be proclaimed more than just by word but by actions.  Without an inspiring vision and a strong message, we would not be able to find any collaborators, for no one is going to waste their time on us.

Secondly, the leader must be willing to empower and delegate.  Finding collaborators is not the same as servants who will carry out our orders and be at our beck and call.  Collaborators are different from servants, as Jesus said in the gospel, “I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.”  (Jn 15:15)  Indeed, the gospel underscores this difference by saying that “they were to be his companions and to be sent out to preach, with power to cast out devils.”  Indeed, Jesus said, “You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.”  (Jn 15:16)  Collaborators therefore share in the authority and power of Christ to do what He did.

Once the leader is clear about his vision and message, he could then go about finding his collaborators.  In the gospel, Jesus shows us that the most important criterion is not whether they are educated, intelligent, influential, rich or powerful.  Indeed, the motley crowd that He chose to be His apostles included fishermen, tax-collectors, revolutionaries and physicians. They were people of diverse personalities. Thus, let us not be too impressed by externals, remembering that “the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”  (1 Sm 16:7)  So what are the most important attributes that we should be looking for in a potential collaborator, besides skills and talents?

Firstly, our collaborator must share in our vision, mission and message.  If he or she is not aligned with our vision, nor excited with our mission and message, we cannot make much progress.  Indeed, very often, failure in Church today is caused by a lack of alignment.  Bishops must align themselves with the Holy Father.  Clergy and religious must align themselves with the local bishop.  The laity must align themselves with the parish priest.   Only in this way, sharing in the same vision, mission and message, can we accomplish the task of building the community of Christ’s disciples. In truth, what is happening in our churches is that we are working against each other.  Instead of helping us, our collaborators often work against us. The team players we select must therefore be people who are convinced and excited about the leader’s vision and message.  The disciples of Jesus were indeed enthusiastic about Jesus’ message and vision for humanity.  That was why they left everything to follow Him.

Secondly, our collaborators must be loyal to us.  In the gospel, the text ended with a tone of sadness, for the evangelist recorded that Judas Iscariot was “the man who was to betray him.”   Indeed, a leader cannot succeed when his team members are working against him, betraying his confidence.  A good leader must find those who are loyal to him and can help him to accomplish the mission.  The disciples were ready to die for Jesus and suffer with Him because they were convicted of His mission.  That was the loyalty and fortitude they displayed. St Peter said to the Lord, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death!”  (Lk 22:33)

David’s absolute loyalty to King Saul was evident although Saul tried to kill him. “David said to Saul, ‘Why do you listen to the men who say to you, “David means to harm you”?  Why, your own eyes have seen today how the Lord put you in my power in the cave and how I refused to kill you, but spared you.’”  He even called Saul, his father.  “O my father, see, look at the border of your cloak in my hand.  Since I cut off the border of your cloak, yet did not kill you, you must acknowledge frankly that there is neither malice nor treason in my mind.  I have not offended against you, yet you hunt me down to take my life.  May the Lord be judge between me and you, and may the Lord avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be laid on you.”

Thirdly, our collaborators must have respect for us if we as leaders are to accomplish our tasks.  When our collaborators or subordinates have no regard for us, they will not listen to whatever we say, much less carry out our instructions.  David held King Saul with deep respect in spite of Saul’s insecurities and wrong judgment of him.  He did not take things into his own hands.  David knew that Saul was the Lord’s anointed and therefore, regardless of what decision Saul made, he had to respect legitimate authority. This explains why at the ordination, the Bishop asks the Ordinand, “Will you promise respect and obedience to me and my successors?”   The answer of course is “yes.”   Unfortunately when this promise is merely a lip service and not from the heart, that collaborator will not work with him but for himself.  But David was so respectful of Saul that he even felt remorse for cutting a piece of the royal robe from Saul as it was tantamount to disrespect for his office. “Afterwards David reproached himself for having cut off the border of Saul’s cloak.  He said to his men, ‘The Lord preserve me from doing such a thing to my lord and raising my hand against him, for he is the anointed of the Lord.’  David gave his men strict instructions, forbidding them to attack Saul.”

Fourthly, our collaborators must be people who are magnanimous, sincere and forgiving.  This was the case of David when even Saul acknowledged that he had what it takes to be a good king and shepherd.  Saul said to David, “You are a more upright man than I, for you have repaid me with good while I have repaid you with evil.  Today you have crowned your goodness towards me since the Lord had put me in your power yet you did not kill me. When a man comes on his enemy, does he let him go unmolested?  May the Lord reward you for the goodness you have shown me today.  Now I know you will indeed reign and that the sovereignty in Israel will be secure in your hands.”  When our collaborators lack forgiveness, generosity and sincerity in their hearts, they will not be able to command others.  Those who are vindictive, insecure and violent, like King Saul, will only destroy what we seek to build and create enemies.  Good leaders must be like David, ever ready to let go, forgive, to seek dialogue, peace and reconciliation.

Finally, a good collaborator must be a team player.  Indeed, Jesus deliberately chose a diverse group of apostles because He needed the different skills and talents for the mission.  But because team members come with different skills, talents and temperament, the greatest challenge of a leader is to foster unity and alignment among themselves.  Helping and getting the members of the team to work in unison with each other for the common good and for the greater good, remains the most daunting task of a leader.  Often our team members work for themselves and allow their ego to get the better of them.  Such competition and egoistic outlook bring about division.  Thus, in looking for a good collaborator, we look for one who is humble, gracious, receptive and able to work as a team.

How, then, can leaders ensure that their team members remain cohesive, united and aligned at all times?  The key is for the leader to be with them, sharing his vision, message and mission.  This was what Jesus did.  Before He sent them out, He first called them to be with Him, to be His companions, so that as a leader, He will know their strengths and weaknesses; and conversely, the disciples will know His heart and mind intimately.  Leaders therefore must always be with their collaborators, sharing with them their vision and mission so that as the gatekeeper of the vision, this passion for the mission will stay alive.  Spending time with each other, building communion, being together in prayer, in play and in work is important to build communion, trust, fraternal love and support for each other. Only then can we become a potent force in bringing about transformation in society.   Hence, success is dependent on whether we have a good leader with vision and passion, and a good team of collaborators to carry out the mission.

Written by The Most Rev William Goh Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved