20180804 SELF SERVING LEADERSHIP
4 AUGUST, 2018, Saturday, 17th Week,
Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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Jeremiah 26:11-16,24 ©
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'This man has spoken to us in the name of the Lord'
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The priests and prophets addressed the officials and all the
people, ‘This man deserves to die, since he has prophesied against this city,
as you have heard with your own ears.’ Jeremiah, however, replied to the people
as follows:
‘The Lord
himself sent me to say all the things you have heard against this Temple and
this city. So now amend your behaviour and actions, listen to the voice of the
Lord your God: if you do, he will relent and not bring down on you the disaster
he has pronounced against you. For myself, I am as you see in your hands. Do
whatever you please or think right with me. But be sure of this, that if you
put me to death, you will be bringing innocent blood on yourselves, on this
city and on its citizens, since the Lord has truly sent me to you to say all
these words in your hearing.’
The
officials and all the people then said to the priests and prophets, ‘This man
does not deserve to die: he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.’
Jeremiah had
a protector in Ahikam son of Shaphan, so he was not handed over to the people
to be put to death.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 68(69):15-16,30-31,33-34 ©
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In your great love, answer me, O God.
Rescue me from sinking in the mud;
save me from my foes.
Save me from the waters of the deep
lest the waves overwhelm me.
Do not let the deep engulf me
nor death close its mouth on me.
In your great love, answer me, O God.
As for me in my poverty and pain
let your help, O God, lift me up.
I will praise God’s name with a song;
I will glorify him with thanksgiving.
In your great love, answer me, O God.
The poor when they see it will be glad
and God-seeking hearts will revive;
for the Lord listens to the needy
and does not spurn his servants in their chains.
In your great love, answer me, O God.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Lk8:15
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are those who,
with a noble and generous heart,
take the word of God to themselves
and yield a harvest through their perseverance.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Mt5:10
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Happy those who are persecuted
in the cause of right,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 14:1-12 ©
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The beheading of John the Baptist
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Herod the tetrarch heard about the reputation of Jesus, and said
to his court, ‘This is John the Baptist himself; he has risen from the dead,
and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.’
Now it was
Herod who had arrested John, chained him up and put him in prison because of
Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. For John had told him, ‘It is against the
Law for you to have her.’ He had wanted to kill him but was afraid of the
people, who regarded John as a prophet. Then, during the celebrations for
Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and so
delighted Herod that he promised on oath to give her anything she asked.
Prompted by her mother she said, ‘Give me John the Baptist’s head, here, on a
dish.’ The king was distressed but, thinking of the oaths he had sworn and of
his guests, he ordered it to be given her, and sent and had John beheaded in
the prison. The head was brought in on a dish and given to the girl, who took
it to her mother. John’s disciples came and took the body and buried it; then
they went off to tell Jesus.
SELF-SERVING LEADERSHIP
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ JER 26:11-16,24; MT 14:1-12 ]
It is never
easy to be a true prophet of God. We will always face opposition, even in
ministry, because of jealousy and selfishness. We are sure to be
persecuted and hated. The people who wanted to put Jeremiah to death were
not even the rulers and the people whom Jeremiah condemned, but the priests and
false prophets who opposed the truth. This is true for us all. The
people who oppose us often come from our own ranks and
organization. It is not the people that oppose us but those whose
interests are compromised. Even the Holy Father has his critics within
the Curia and some Catholics who are not happy with his attempts to change the
structure of the Church.
This happens
mainly due to four reasons: jealousy and insecurity; pride and selfish
interests. King Herod was afraid of John the Baptist because
he had become too popular. He was afraid that the people might
follow John instead. He could start a revolution and Herod could lose his
power and authority. So he had John arrested and put in prison. Yet
he knew that he was a man of God. And because of the people, he dared not
kill him. He was a thorn in his flesh. Indeed, all of us get
jealous easily when others are perceived to be better than us. More so if
you are a leader and you know that they are better than you. Your position
becomes threatened.
For Herodias,
her ego was also affected. John the Baptist had exposed her sin of adultery thus making
her lose face. She became vindictive. She wanted that thorn to be
removed so that she could continue to live in grace and not in
disgrace. She wanted to live in dignity but in truth she was
deceiving herself. This is a delusion. This is true for us all.
We do not like people to tell us of our sins. We do not like to be
reminded of our imperfections. That is why some people do not want to go
for confession. Their pride and fear of shame prevent them.
We do not mind criticizing ourselves but we take offense when others criticize
us. Herod too was a slave to his pride when he did not retract the promise he
made to Herodias’ daughter. A promise to do evil is invalid.
Yet, to show his power, he saw through this evil deed.
For the
prophets and priests, they too had vested interests. They would lose their
position and privileges if the people start to believe in Jeremiah. We
all want security in life. We want to live comfortable lives and be freed
from those who control us. Some of us are not willing to step down
from office because we are used to the privileges that come with the
office. We are afraid that we cannot live without them. So we are
not willing to give up our power. Even in the Church, we cling on to
power. I always wonder why some people are not willing to step down from
office when there are younger and better people who can do a more effective
job. My constant conviction is that the best man or woman should do the
job. But in truth, we all cling on to power, not for service but for
ourselves. Of course, in the name of service, we do not give up our
power. The day we are no longer in office, we will cease to enjoy special
treatment, including the bishop! But service is not about us!
Jealousy and
pride, insecurity and self-interests will lead to more evil, including
vindictiveness and killing. That was what happened to the prophets, priests
and Herodias and Herod. They would do anything to get rid of the irritant
even when they knew he was speaking the truth. They would even step so
low as to use innocent people to condemn the prophet. They sought to use
the rulers and the people to put Jeremiah to death. Herodias made use of
her innocent daughter to display herself so that she could ask her to request
for the head of John the Baptist. Politicians and weak governments would
do everything to eliminate their opponents, regardless how good and talented
they may be for the country.
What about
us? Do we want to follow the same path? Do we use innocent
people, especially the young to fulfill our ambitions and selfish needs?
Do we seek death and murder at least in our minds? If we do, then
we will never find peace, like Herod. He lived in guilt and fear for the
rest of his life for he knew that he had done wrong. He could not
reconcile with his sin of adultery and murder. He had hallucinations of
John the Baptist appearing, and more so because he mistook Jesus for John, as
they were cousins. Guilt will kill us in the end. This
explains why sins have a punishment of their own. When there is guilt,
there can be no peace.
The truth is
that our conscience cannot be silenced. Don’t pretend or try to
suppress the truth. Even the uneducated common people know what is right
and wrong. That is why the collective conscience of the people rejected
the priests and prophets’ demand to execute Jeremiah. The sensus fidei
must be trusted, especially when authorities are corrupt and blind. As
authorities, we must be alert to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and be
receptive to the ground as well.
We are called
to be like John the Baptist and Jeremiah. Let our lives be our defense
if our words fail us. We need to be true to ourselves and do the right
thing, not the popular thing. We must have the courage even to speak the
truth against the powerful people when they are wrong!
But speak the
truth with charity. Truth must be spoken in love and with love. This is the
litmus test of truth. If we speak out of anger and resentment, most
likely there is no truth in it but self-interest and revenge. We speak
only because there is no self-gain but purely out of love and for the love and
good of others. Jeremiah defended himself as follows, “The Lord himself sent me
to say all the things you have heard against this Temple and this city. So now
amend your behaviour and actions, listen to the voice of the Lord your God: if
you do, he will relent and not bring down on you the disaster he has pronounced
against you.”
However, before
you can claim to speak the truth and not do so as an excuse to ventilate your
own hang ups, make sure you have prayed and listened clearly to the Word of God.
This was what Jeremiah and John the Baptist did. If we have not listened
to His word, we only have the voice without the content. So to find
the courage to proclaim the truth, we must first listen. Having
heard the word of God for ourselves, we can then proclaim the truth with
confidence and without fear. Jeremiah could surrender his fate to God. “For
myself, I am as you see in your hands. Do whatever you please or think right
with me. But be sure of this, that if you put me to death, you will be bringing
innocent blood on yourselves, on this city and on its citizens, since the Lord
has truly sent me to you to say all these words in your hearing.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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