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LEADERSHIP
IS AT THE SERVICE OF TRUTH AND LOVE
20 MARCH, 2019,
Wednesday, 2nd Week in Lent
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Violet.
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First reading
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Jeremiah 18:18-20 ©
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My enemies are digging a pit for me
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‘Come on,’ they said, ‘let us concoct a
plot against Jeremiah; the priest will not run short of instruction without
him, nor the sage of advice, nor the prophet of the word. Come on, let us hit
at him with his own tongue; let us listen carefully to every word he says.’
Listen to me, O Lord,
hear what my adversaries are saying.
Should evil be returned for good?
For they are digging a pit for me.
Remember how I stood in your presence
to plead on their behalf,
to turn your wrath away from them.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 30(31):5-6,14-16 ©
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Save me in your love, O
Lord.
Release me from the snares they have
hidden
for you are my refuge, Lord.
Into your hands I commend my spirit.
It is you who will redeem me,
Lord.
Save me in your love, O
Lord.
I have heard the slander of the crowd,
fear is all around me,
as they plot together against me,
as they plan to take my life.
Save me in your love, O
Lord.
But as for me, I trust in you, Lord;
I say: ‘You are my God.
My life is in your hands, deliver me
from the hands of those who
hate me.’
Save me in your love, O
Lord.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.Jn6:63,68
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Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word
of God!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are
life;
you have the message of eternal life.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word
of God!
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Or:
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Jn8:12
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Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word
of God!
I am the light of the world, says the
Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the light
of life.
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word
of God!
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Gospel
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Matthew 20:17-28 ©
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They will condemn the Son of Man to
death
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Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, and on
the way he took the Twelve to one side and said to them, ‘Now we are going up
to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man is about to be handed over to the chief
priests and scribes. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to
the pagans to be mocked and scourged and crucified; and on the third day he
will rise again.’
Then
the mother of Zebedee’s sons came with her sons to make a request of him, and
bowed low; and he said to her, ‘What is it you want?’ She said to him, ‘Promise
that these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and the other at
your left in your kingdom.’ ‘You do not know what you are asking’ Jesus
answered. ‘Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?’ They replied, ‘We
can.’ ‘Very well,’ he said ‘you shall drink my cup, but as for seats at my
right hand and my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to
whom they have been allotted by my Father.’
When
the other ten heard this they were indignant with the two brothers. But Jesus
called them to him and said, ‘You know that among the pagans the rulers lord it
over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen
among you. No; anyone who wants to be great among you must be your servant, and
anyone who wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of
Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for
many.’
LEADERSHIP IS AT
THE SERVICE OF TRUTH AND LOVE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ JER 18:18-20; PS 31:5-6, 14-16; MATT 20:17-28 ]
Why do people seek
positions of leadership?
Jesus gives us the reason, “You know that among the pagans the rulers lord it
over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen
among you.” Indeed, in the world, people aspire to leadership simply
because of power, wealth, status and glory. They want to lord over
others. Instead of serving others, their service is to make others serve
their personal interests. They want to be recognized and be held in
honour. Often, with power and authority, come money, sex, and luxurious
living.
In the first reading, Jeremiah
teaches us that leadership is for the service of truth. Indeed, the
whole life of Jeremiah was to warn his people of the imminent disaster ahead of
them because of their infidelity to the covenant. He did not mince
his words but spoke the truth with fortitude, in and out of season. As a
consequence, he was hated by the people because he was perceived as a harbinger
of bad news. So much so, they plotted to kill him. They said, “Come
on, let us concoct a plan against Jeremiah; the priest will not run short of
instruction without him, nor the sage of advice, nor the prophet of the word.
Come on, let us hit at him with his own tongue; let us listen carefully to
every word he says.”
In the gospel, Jesus makes it clear
that leadership is not only for the service of truth but of love. Perhaps,
whilst Jeremiah was right in proclaiming the truth, he could have lacked love.
Jesus, however, proclaimed the truth in love and demonstrated by His
love. He came to serve humanity through the works of healing and
reconciliation, which included the proclamation of the truth about ourselves.
Furthermore, He defined this
service as one of humble and selfless service, not for one’s benefit but
for the benefit of others. His vision of life is summed up in these
words, “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life
as a ransom for many.” Indeed, a true leader is one who makes himself as
a sacrificial offering for the greater good of humanity and often at his own
personal expense and convenience. He is so to speak a ransom for
others. This is the meaning of true leadership. Ut Vivant!
That they may live, implies that one must die for the rest.
Is that our motive for
leadership and service as well? The truth is that if we were to ask someone why he is
a priest or religious, or a political, civil or corporate leader, or even in
church ministry or NGO, he or she will always say it is because they want to
serve. But is this true? Are we conscious of our real motives in service
and especially when we aspire to leadership? The truth is that our hidden
motives often are not detected. This was the case of the leaders in
Israel, including the apostles and the mothers of James and John.
Because of their
obsession with power and glory, they were completely insensitive to the Passion
prophecy of Jesus.
Here was Jesus going up to Jerusalem to meet His passion and death. But
none of them even inquired about what He was telling them and how much they
understood what He was saying. They just brushed off what He said and
spoke about the glory of the kingdom instead. Perhaps this was true of
the leaders of Israel when they heard the prophecies of Jeremiah. They
were too absorbed in their power and wealth that they could not listen to what
Jeremiah was saying. Even the other ten apostles were envious, even if
they did not take the initiative to ask Jesus for the same favour. We
read that “when the other ten heard this they were indignant with the two
brothers.” So they too were not exempted from secretly seeking power and
glory. The consequence of leaders seeking power and glory for themselves is
always jealousy, division and competition.
In the same vein, some
of us are so desperate for people to acknowledge us that we unconsciously take
up leadership to get recognition, power, glory, status and wealth. Very few would have the honesty to
say that they want to be leaders for their own security and personal interests.
How can we know what our real motives are
in service and leadership? Jesus asked His apostles, “Can you
drink the cup that I am going to drink?” To drink this cup is more
than just the capacity to suffer. Even dictators are willing to suffer
for their ambition. Rather, the question is not whether you can suffer
but can you suffer for truth and love? Are you able to suffer for
others? One can suffer for oneself to realize an ambition. Even dictators
suffer but for themselves. To drink the cup is to be made sin and
to be made responsible for the sins of others. It means to take the
pains, the consequences of the sins of others, the rejection, humility and
ingratitude of humanity for the work of love that we do. Like Jesus and
Jeremiah, would we die for the love of humanity, especially when they do not value
us or are ungrateful to us? If our love is one of humble and selfless
service, then our motive is clear. A true leader who is unifying and
empowering is one who gives his life, enjoyment and power away for the greater
good of humanity, seeking to be last so that others can be first.
Today, the Lord invites us to enter more
deeply into ourselves and purify our motives for service and leadership.
At the end of the day, Jesus reminds us that the focus is not what we
can get from our service but what we can give; not what is in it for me but
what is in it for them. Indeed, a leader should never calculate
his costs or worry about his rewards. Jesus in no uncertain terms said,
“Very well, you shall drink my cup, but as for seats at my right hand and my left,
these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been
allotted by my Father.” A selfless and humble servant does not
think of rewards but how he can serve better, empower others, and give hope to
those in despair and most of all, consolation and love.
In order to be able to serve in this
manner, we need to have faith in the Lord. This is where
Jeremiah got his strength from. He prayed, “Listen to me Lord, hear what
my adversaries are saying. Should evil be returned for good? For they are
digging a pit for me. Remember how I stood in your presence to plead on their
behalf, to turn your wrath away from them.” Together with the psalmist,
we commend our lives to Him for He is our savior. We pray too, “Save me in your
love, O Lord. Release me from the snares they have hidden for you are my
refuge, Lord. Into your hands I commend my spirit. It is you who will redeem
me, Lord. I have heard the slander of the crowd; fear is all around me, as they
plot together against me, as they plan to take my life. But as for me, I trust
in you, Lord; I say: ‘You are my God. My life is in your hands; deliver me from
the hands of those who hate me.”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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