20170830
CREDIBLE AND AUTHENTIC LEADERS
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 ©
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Let me remind you, brothers, how hard we used to work, slaving
night and day so as not to be a burden on any one of you while we were
proclaiming God’s Good News to you. You are witnesses, and so is God, that our
treatment of you, since you became believers, has been impeccably right and
fair. You can remember how we treated every one of you as a father treats his
children, teaching you what was right, encouraging you and appealing to you to
live a life worthy of God, who is calling you to share the glory of his
kingdom. Another reason why we constantly thank God for you is that as soon as
you heard the message that we brought you as God’s message, you accepted it for
what it really is, God’s message and not some human thinking; and it is still a
living power among you who believe it.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 138(139):7-12 ©
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O Lord, you search me and you know me.
O where can I go from your spirit,
or where can I flee from your face?
If I climb the heavens, you are there.
If I lie in the grave, you are there.
O Lord, you search me and you know me.
If I take the wings of the dawn
and dwell at the sea’s furthest end,
even there your hand would lead me,
your right hand would hold me fast.
O Lord, you search me and you know me.
If I say: ‘Let the darkness hide me
and the light around me be night,’
even darkness is not dark for you
and the night is as clear as the day.
O Lord, you search me and you know me.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Mt4:4
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Man does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
Alleluia!
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Or
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1Jn2:5
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Whenever anyone obeys what Christ has said,
God’s love comes to perfection in him.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 23:27-32 ©
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Jesus said: ‘Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites!
You who are like whitewashed tombs that look handsome on the outside, but
inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of corruption. In the same
way you appear to people from the outside like good honest men, but inside you
are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
‘Alas for
you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who build the sepulchres of the
prophets and decorate the tombs of holy men, saying, “We would never have
joined in shedding the blood of the prophets, had we lived in our fathers’
day.” So! Your own evidence tells against you! You are the sons of those who
murdered the prophets! Very well then, finish off the work that your fathers
began.’
CREDIBLE AND AUTHENTIC LEADERS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 Thess 2:9-13; Ps 139:7-12; Mt 23:27-32 ]
One of the
greatest crises in our history is the lack of credible leadership, be it in the
corporate, political or religious world. In the past, leaders were mostly
outstanding in character, virtues and integrity. Even though the world
was dominated by monarchs, kings and emperors, many of them proved to be
visionary and worked for their people and their country. Of course there
were bad rulers too, but these were deposed in no time. Today there is a
great distrust in all forms of leadership because of scandals that have been
exposed. People have lost confidence in leadership because of corruption,
dishonesty and self-aggrandisement. Bad leaders are obvious. They
are self-serving and lacking in integrity. Such leaders are quickly overthrown
and new ones are installed.
But the real
malaise affecting church and society in our days is not just bad leaders but
hypocritical leaders. These are the leaders who appear to be good, honest and
caring for the people they lead, but in truth they are self-serving. This
is what the Lord is alerting us to in the gospel. Jesus said, “Alas for
you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who are like whitewashed tombs
that look handsome on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and
every kind of corruption. In the same way you appear to people from the outside
like good honest men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and
lawlessness.” These are the leaders that we should be more afraid of than
the obvious bad leaders because at least the latter are not hypocritical.
But more insidious would be the damage done to the church and society when we
have apparently good and holy leaders who, in their private life, live contrary
to what they proclaim. Have we not heard that those who are dead against
pedophile and adultery are often the ones caught for pedophilia and adultery!
Indeed, many
leaders are leading double lives. In front of the people, they appear to be
serving them and fighting for their rights. But in truth, they are
amassing wealth for themselves, living luxurious and immoral lives. These
people sound convincing in the way they talk and project themselves, but they
are living exactly the opposite of what they preach. They speak about
being obedient to God and to superiors, but they know no other authority except
themselves. They preach about living a life of poverty and simplicity but
they are quietly living a luxurious life. They do not suffer with the
people and less still for the people. They insist that we live a moral
life, a life of integrity and chastity, but they are engaged in cheating,
misappropriation and adultery.
Another way
that hypocritical leaders conduct themselves is to pay lip service to what they
preach, but in their hearts they are not convicted. Jesus exposed the
insincerity of the Jewish leaders with respect to hearing the words of the
prophets. “Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You who build
the sepulchres of the prophets and decorate the tombs of holy men, saying, ‘We
would never have joined in shedding the blood of the prophets, had we lived in
our fathers’ day.’ So! Your own evidence tells against you! You are the
sons of those who murdered the prophets! Very well then, finish off the work
that your fathers began.” They were pretending to honour the prophets
whom their fathers killed and murdered. But in truth they were doing the
same thing because they continued the work of their fathers by rejecting the
prophets that God sent to them, namely, John the Baptist and Christ
Himself. Whilst on one hand, they quoted from the prophets, but they did
not change their lives and lived according to what they heard. Instead,
they continued to live a life of hypocrisy, a life of falsehood, seeking gains
instead of truly serving God in humility and generosity.
We have many
leaders doing the same thing today. Many of them continue to be closed to
the prophets’ call to renewal, conversion and mercy. Many are uncomfortable with
the teaching of the Holy Father because he speaks the truth about scandals,
corruption and careerism in priestly and religious life. Many are not
open to change and renewal in Church leadership, structure and direction.
They want to continue with the status quo and their set ways of doing things,
protecting the kingdom they built around themselves. By not taking heed
of the gospel’s call to conversion of life, fidelity to the gospel values and
humility in service, compassion in action, we are perpetuating the sin of our
fathers.
For this
reason, even if such leaders are eloquent in preaching, their words have no
real effect on their sheep. This is in contrast to St Paul’s preaching, as he
testified: “Another reason why we constantly thank God for you is that as soon
as you heard the message that we brought you as God’s message, you accepted it
for what it really is, God’s message and not some human thinking; and it is
still a living power among you who believe it.” No one will believe
in our words unless we live by them in our daily life. We can teach and
preach, telling people what they should do. But our words will fall on
deaf ears because we do not preach from personal conviction and our lives are
not in sync with what we say. However, if we live a life of integrity,
then people will hear it as God’s word and it will be a living power to those
who believe it.
St Paul shows
us the way to how we should exercise leadership authentically. Firstly, St
Paul was genuinely in love with his people. He saw the people as
his own children. And so like a father, St Paul reached out to
them. “You can remember how we treated every one of you as a father
treats his children, teaching you what was right, encouraging you and appealing
to you to live a life worthy of God, who is calling you to share the glory of
his kingdom.” Like a father, St Paul was concerned simply with teaching
them the right way and to live a righteous life so that they can share in the
glory of God.
Secondly, St
Paul conducted himself in an exemplary manner. He did not shout or scold
the people but instead reached out to them by appealing to their love and by
encouraging them in their progress in their spiritual life. Most of all,
he wrote, “You are witnesses, and so is God, that our treatment of you, since
you became believers, has been impeccably right and fair.” St Paul
could appeal to his own witness of life in encouraging the Christians to
imitate his lifestyle.
Thirdly, he
was selfless and pure in his motives in serving the people. He said to
them, “Let me remind you, brothers, how hard we used to work, slaving night and
day so as not to be a burden on any one of you while we were proclaiming God’s
Good News to you.” Clearly, St Paul had no other motives in serving the
people other than for their sake. He could have lived on the
financial support of the Christians since he was working for them.
Instead, St Paul chose to earn his own keep by being a tent-maker. He
supported himself for as long as he could so that no one would doubt his
sincerity in proclaiming the Good News. For this reason, even when
religious leaders are to be maintained by the People of God, they must not take
advantage of their generosity. In all that we do, we must show ourselves
to be free from selfish gains in the proclamation of the gospel. All that
we receive must be poured back into the work of evangelization and not for our
own enjoyment.
Indeed,
unless leaders today walk the talk and serve as St Paul did, there is no future
for humanity.
How great a nation we are is dependent on our leaders! Of course, leaders
are not perfect but we must strive for authenticity and integrity each
day. Like the psalmist, we pray, “O Lord, you search me and you know me. O
where can I go from your spirit, or where can I flee from your face? If I climb
the heavens, you are there. If I lie in the grave, you are there. If I
say: ‘Let the darkness hide me and the light around me be night,’ even darkness
is not dark for you and the night is as clear as the day.” We can
con people because they do not know our real intentions and what we do in our
private life, but we cannot cheat God! He sees us through and
through. So it behoves all leaders to continually examine their
conscience and bring their actions to match their words. Only then can
what we say be received as God’s word, which has a living power on those who
hear them.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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