20181113
MENTORSHIP
13 NOVEMBER,
2018, Tuesday, 32nd Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Titus 2:1-8,11-14 ©
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You must preach the behaviour which goes
with healthy doctrine
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It is for you to preach the behaviour
which goes with healthy doctrine. The older men should be reserved, dignified,
moderate, sound in faith and love and constancy. Similarly, the older women
should behave as though they were religious, with no scandal-mongering and no
habitual wine-drinking – they are to be the teachers of the right
behaviour and show the younger women how they should love their husbands and
love their children, how they are to be sensible and chaste, and how to work in
their homes, and be gentle, and do as their husbands tell them, so that the
message of God is never disgraced. In the same way, you have got to persuade
the younger men to be moderate and in everything you do make yourself an
example to them of working for good: when you are teaching, be an example to
them in your sincerity and earnestness and in keeping all that you say so
wholesome that nobody can make objections to it; and then any opponent will be
at a loss, with no accusation to make against us. You see, God’s grace has been
revealed, and it has made salvation possible for the whole human race and
taught us that what we have to do is to give up everything that does not lead
to God, and all our worldly ambitions; we must be self-restrained and live good
and religious lives here in this present world, while we are waiting in hope
for the blessing which will come with the Appearing of the glory of our great
God and saviour Christ Jesus. He sacrificed himself for us in order to set
us free from all wickedness and to purify a people so that it
could be his very own and would have no ambition except to do good.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm
36(37):3-4,18,23,27,29 ©
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The salvation of the
just comes from the Lord.
If you trust in the Lord and do good,
then you will live in the land
and be secure.
If you find your delight in the Lord,
he will grant your heart’s
desire.
The salvation of the
just comes from the Lord.
He protects the lives of the upright,
their heritage will last for
ever.
The Lord guides the steps of a man
and makes safe the path of one
he loves.
The salvation of the
just comes from the Lord.
Then turn away from evil and do good
and you shall have a home for
ever;
The just shall inherit the land;
there they shall live for
ever.
The salvation of the
just comes from the Lord.
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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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Jn14:23
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Alleluia, alleluia!
If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 17:7-10 ©
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You are merely servants
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Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Which of
you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he
returned from the fields, “Come and have your meal immediately”? Would he not
be more likely to say, “Get my supper laid; make yourself tidy and wait on me
while I eat and drink. You can eat and drink yourself afterwards”? Must he be
grateful to the servant for doing what he was told? So with you: when you have
done all you have been told to do, say, “We are merely servants: we have done
no more than our duty.”’
MENTORSHIP
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Titus 2:1-8, 11-14; Luke 17:7-10]
St Paul wrote to Titus,
“It is for you to preach the behaviour which goes with healthy doctrine.” It is not enough to teach the right
doctrines about the Christian Faith. Just knowledge of the doctrines of
the Church will not save us unless we draw out the implications of what and who
we believe in concrete living. Jesus made it clear that there are only
two commandments for us to observe. “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the
Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your
strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mk 12:29-31) That is the reason, why
sharing a common faith is necessary if we want to preserve the unity and peace
of the family. Otherwise, the unity among the family members would be
superficial. When we come from diverse faith backgrounds, necessarily,
the way we look at life and our values would differ. This could lead to
disagreement, arguments and eventually hostility, especially in the areas of
marriage, sex and raising children. Indeed, this is often the main
challenges in mixed marriages when both parties are adherents of different
religions.
Yet, knowing the right
doctrines or sharing in the same values is not sufficient to preserve the
strength and unity of the family. We need good mentors to show us how to live
out what we believe. Today,
people are looking for witnesses, much less teachers. Simply teaching our
young what they should do without doing it ourselves will have very little
impact on them. They can easily sniff out the hypocrisy and double
standards in how we apply the rules. Imposing laws on them can make them
resentful of us, or if they had imbibed them without questioning, when they
become adults, they will in turn do the same to their children. The other
extreme position is to have parents who just allow their children to run their
own lives without much guidance. This too could be disastrous.
So what is needed is
teaching that is accompanied by personal example. St Paul challenged the Jews, saying
if they knew “his will and determine what is best because you are instructed in
the law, and if you are sure that you are a guide to the blind, a light to
those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of
children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth, you,
then, that teach others, will you not teach yourself? While you preach against
stealing, do you steal? You that forbid adultery, do you commit
adultery? You that abhor idols, do you rob temples? You that boast in the
law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?” (Rom 2:18-23)
Thus, St Paul instructed
Titus to urge the elderly, the parents, married couples and young people to be
mentors of each other by setting good examples in the way they conducted
themselves in Christian living. Of course, the circumstances during St Paul’s times
and ours are different. Whilst not everything might be applicable to our
times, yet the basic principles of a good Christian life remains
constant. The underlying principle is that all must show good examples to
their juniors, living exemplary lives according to their state, whether they
are elderly, grandparents, parents, married or young people.
Indeed, those of us who
are elderly, especially grandparents, must show our children how to live their
lives graciously.
Even as elderly, we can offer them our wisdom and our sense of moderation in
responding to situations. St Paul said, “The older men should be
reserved, dignified, moderate, sound in faith and love and constancy.” We
should act as sage and wise counsellors for the young. This requires us
to live in a contemplative spirit, with calmness and patience. On our
part, we should not be overly dependent on them and make them feel obligated
towards us. We should find our own life. We should learn to let go
of them, allow them to live their own lives, without interfering how they live
or manage their household if they are married. Our approach must be
non-intrusive, helpful but not interfering. As elderly, we must show to
the younger generation that we can age with dignity by being involved in the
lives of others, giving ourselves in whatever service we can render to the
community and by living our lives as fully as we can each day without
complaining and lamenting.
Those who are married
must teach their children how to be loving parents. “They are to be the teachers of the
right behaviour and show the younger women how they should love their husbands
and love their children, how they are to be sensible and chaste, and how to
work in their homes, and be gentle, and do as their husbands tell them, so that
the message of God is never disgraced.” Whether men or women, the point
is that parents must set the example of love in married life. How they
treat each other will be how the children treat each other and later on how
they will treat their partners. Children observe what their parents
do. If parents are always squabbling, fighting, shouting at each other,
belittling each other, criticizing and putting each other down in front of
their children, they in turn will do likewise.
So the best way to teach
our children and our subordinates is to love and to act with charity. Leaders and parents set the tone and
direction for how the community operates. Most children and subordinates
take the cue from their leaders. Therefore, if we want to see how the
community operates and what their culture is like, we just have to look at the
leaders. What they do will affect those under their charge because they
imitate their leaders. This is why St Paul said, “In the same way, you
have got to persuade the younger men to be moderate and in everything you do
make yourself an example to them in your sincerity and earnestness and in
keeping all that you say so wholesome that nobody will be at a loss, with no
accusation to make against us.”
Our greatest example of
course is Christ Himself. He is our leader and mentor. He is the
Way, the Truth and the Life.
St Paul based his exhortation on the fact that we exercise proper mentorship
because Christ has set for us the example of how we should live and lead others
in life. “You see, God’s grace has been revealed, and it had made
salvation possible for the whole human race and taught us that what we have to
do is to give up everything that does not lead to God, and all our worldly
ambitions; we must be self restrained and live good and religious lives here in
this present world, while we are waiting in hope for the blessing which will
come with the Appearing of the glory of our great God and saviour Christ
Jesus. He sacrificed himself for us in order to set us free from all wickedness
and to purify a people so that it could be his very own and would have no
ambition except to do good.” Christ our leader in salvation and
perfection, (cf Heb 5:8-10) has taught us
to be true servants of God and of our fellowmen in selfless love and
service. By walking in truth and love, we lead others to follow us to
God. Through our mentorship in life, in love and truth, those under us will
imitate our good examples and be inspired by our lives. Truly, if we fail
to inspire those under our charge by the way we live, it means that we have
failed miserably in leadership.
In the gospel, Jesus
reminds us that at the end of the day, we are merely servants of each other and
of God. He made it clear
that we are here to serve one another, whether as leaders or followers.
There is nothing to boast about or claim credit for what we do. This is
because the Lord has graced us with His gifts so that we can do what He is
asking of us. Like the dutiful servant who always put his master above
and before himself, even after coming back from working in the fields, we too
must say, “We are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty.”
Indeed, after having done all we could in serving our Lord though those people
placed under our care, we should thank God for giving the grace and the
opportunity to serve. So let us be servants through exemplary
leadership in lifestyle.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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