20190207
GREAT
LEADERS ARE GREAT MENTORS
07 FEBRUARY,
2019, Thursday, 4th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Hebrews 12:18-19,21-24 ©
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You have come to Mount Zion and the city
of the living God
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What you have come to is nothing known to
the senses: not a blazing fire, or a gloom turning to total darkness, or a
storm; or trumpeting thunder or the great voice speaking which made everyone
that heard it beg that no more should be said to them. The whole scene was so
terrible that Moses said: I am afraid, and was trembling with fright. But what
you have come to is Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly
Jerusalem where the millions of angels have gathered for the festival, with the
whole Church in which everyone is a ‘first-born son’ and a citizen of heaven.
You have come to God himself, the supreme Judge, and been placed with spirits
of the saints who have been made perfect; and to Jesus, the mediator who brings
a new covenant and a blood for purification which pleads more insistently than
Abel’s.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 47(48):2-4,9-11 ©
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O God, we ponder your
love within your temple.
The Lord is great and worthy to be praised
in the city of our God.
His holy mountain rises in beauty,
the joy of all the earth.
O God, we ponder your
love within your temple.
Mount Zion, true pole of the earth,
the Great King’s city!
God, in the midst of its citadels,
has shown himself its
stronghold.
O God, we ponder your
love within your temple.
As we have heard, so we have seen
in the city of our God,
in the city of the Lord of hosts
which God upholds for ever.
O God, we ponder your
love within your temple.
O God, we ponder your love
within your temple.
Your praise, O God, like your name
reaches the ends of the earth.
With justice your right hand is filled.
O God, we ponder your
love within your temple.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Jn15:15
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I call you friends, says the Lord,
because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Mk1:15
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Alleluia, alleluia!
The kingdom of God is close at hand:
repent and believe the Good News.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Mark 6:7-13 ©
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'Take nothing with you'
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Jesus made a tour round the villages,
teaching. Then he summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs
giving them authority over the unclean spirits. And he instructed them to take
nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no haversack, no
coppers for their purses. They were to wear sandals but, he added, ‘Do not take
a spare tunic.’ And he said to them, ‘If you enter a house anywhere, stay there
until you leave the district. And if any place does not welcome you and people
refuse to listen to you, as you walk away shake off the dust from under your
feet as a sign to them.’ So they set off to preach repentance; and they cast
out many devils, and anointed many sick people with oil and cured them.
GREAT LEADERS
ARE GREAT MENTORS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ HEB 12:18-19, 21-24; PS 48:2-4,9-11; MARK 6:7-13 ]
Becoming a great leader
recognized by the world of achievements is not yet the height of leadership.
Indeed, there are many
great leaders who have brought their organizations to great heights because of
their charismatic personality and ability to motivate and move people to join
him in realizing his vision. Such people are charismatic speakers,
motivated, empowering and inspiring in their lives and in what they hope to
achieve for their organization and for humanity.
Unfortunately, when they
die, their good works die with them. No one has been trained to take over from
them. No one even knows exactly what these leaders were doing. They
were simply doing what their leaders told them to do. The focus was on
results. So long as the positive outcome was there, nobody asked beyond
what they achieved. Alas, when the leader dies, the organization perishes
with him or her, as no one is ready to take over his or her mantle, or has the
ability to command the respect, obedience and support as did the founding leader.
That is why good leaders
are those who not only lead well but are generous enough to form and mentor
leaders after them. Mentoring
leaders is perhaps the most difficult task for leaders because it slows them
down and makes their work less perfect. Mentoring requires great
generosity and humility on the part of leaders. It is really a total
self-emptying of oneself, putting the interests of the people and the
organization before self. Today, Jesus proved Himself to be a great
leader and truly the Teacher. He formed leaders after Him. We read,
“Jesus made a tour round the villages, teaching. Then he summoned the Twelve
and began to send them out in pairs giving them authority over the unclean
spirits.”
The first thing a leader
must do is to share His authority with those whom he wants to mentor. Sharing our authority requires
self-effacement and self-emptying. We must never forget that the purpose
of leaders is to serve and not be to served. Jesus said, “Whoever
wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever
wants to be first must be your slave — just as the Son of
Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as
a ransom for many.” (Mt 20:26-28) Authority is given not to
massage the ego of the person but for the purpose of service. So
the graciousness of sharing one’s authority with someone with the potential to
take over the leadership demands selflessness and humility of a leader.
Unless, the leader is willing to put himself last and the interests of
the people above himself, he would not be willing to surrender or impart his
authority, skills and knowledge, lest they become more powerful than them,
cutting away their authority and taking away their popularity. As
long as leaders are more focused on themselves than the good of the people,
they would be afraid of competition, even from within his organization.
That is why insecure leaders try to stifle and even remove potential leaders in
order not to lose their grip over the people.
Secondly, leaders must
be ready to sacrifice perfection in their work by allowing their mentees to
take over their tasks while they guide them. It is always easier to do the work
ourselves because we are experienced and good at it. We can complete them
faster and better. However, with mentees under us, our work is slowed
down because over and beyond our responsibilities, we have to spend time
teaching and coaching them. In addition, often, they make mistakes and
require more time from us to repair the damage. Indeed, that was what
happened to the disciples when they could not cast out an evil spirit from the
boy suffering from epilepsy. (cf Mk 9:14-29) This incident is a very good
example of what mentoring means.
Having dealt with the
prerequisites, the next question we need to ask is, how does mentoring
effectively take place? Firstly, Jesus, right from the start,
trained His disciples to do team ministry. Jesus sent them out in pairs because that
is the way to ensure that they stayed focus in their mission and will not give
up too easily in the face of challenges. We should never
allow inexperienced or even experienced people to do a project by
themselves. There is always the benefit of teamwork and team
support. The mission of the Church cannot be carried out by one person,
regardless how talented or capable he might be. There will be times when we
will be discouraged because of trials, opposition and failures. Even
Jesus gathered twelve apostles to be by His side so that He could find strength
and courage. When He was at the Garden of Gethsemane, He too felt the
need of His three closest friends to pray with Him. (cf Lk 22:39-46)
Secondly, Jesus gave
them the secret to authority, which is to rely on the authority of God. “He instructed them to take nothing for
the journey except a staff – no bread, no haversack, no coppers for their
purses. They were to wear sandals but, he added, ‘Do not take a spare
tunic.'” If the apostles were to show forth the power and glory of God,
they should not project their own powers. Instead, people must see
through them the power of God at work in them. St Paul wrote, “For God,
who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our
hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in
the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that
this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (2 Cor 4:6f) This reminder from the
Lord was important for the disciples because Jesus gave them the authority to
“to preach repentance; and they cast out many devils, and anointed many sick
people with oil and cured them.” Like the apostles, we must not supplant the position
and power of God, thinking that we are the ones who make things work. We
should depend on God alone and not ourselves. Unless we believe in divine
providence, we would not be able to believe that God can and continue to heal
and restore people to life even in hopeless cases.
Thirdly, Jesus shared
with them the joy of ministry when it is done in freedom. If the Lord told the apostles to
travel light, it was not simply because He wanted them to rely on divine
providence but also because it made the mission less onerous and gave them
greater freedom to preach the Good News and minister to the people. The instruction
of the Lord is clear. “As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of
heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those
who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely
give.” (Mt 10:7-9) Without
this freedom to give and to serve, we will be motivated by self-interest and
self-gain. The evangelical counsel of poverty remains a very important
principle of effectiveness in mission. So long as we are constrained by
our attachment for the things of this world, we cannot be free in giving and in
serving. Our service will be compromised because it is determined by how
much we can get back in return. This is not Christian service. The
Good News is given freely without conditions. Truly, the joy of the
ministry is when we serve generously, selflessly and humbly without expecting
anything in return. The joy we receive from our service is pure joy
because it comes from pure love, untainted by the corruption of the world.
Finally, Jesus taught
them to be ready for failure and rejection. He said, “If you enter a house anywhere, stay
there until you leave the district. And if any place does not welcome you and
people refuse to listen to you, as you walk away, shake off the dust from under
your feet as a sign to them.” There will be those who accept our message
and welcome us to their homes. We should be grateful for their kindness
and hospitality. But there will also be those who will not welcome
us. Again, because the Good News is freely given, it must be freely
received. We should not impose our message on them if they do not welcome
us. Our task is to offer the Good News but it is their choice to accept
the gift or reject it. So our conscience should be clear and we should be
at peace even when we face failures. As long as we have done our job and
our part, the rest is the work of the Holy Spirit. We should not be
discouraged or worse still, be angry or intolerant with them.
Today, the first reading
presents to us the ultimate goal of our ministry, which is to build the kingdom
of God on earth as in heaven.
It is our hope that eventually when the time comes, all will come to “Mount
Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem where the millions
of angels have gathered for the festival, with the whole Church in which
everyone is a ‘first-born son’ and a citizen of heaven.” This is our
dream and this is our hope for humanity. This is our vision and as leaders,
we must work to realize this dream for all of us.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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