20190828
INTEGRITY
IN LEADERSHIP
28 AUGUST, 2019,
Wednesday, 21st, Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
White.
These are the readings
for the feria
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First reading
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1 Thessalonians 2:9-13 ©
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We slaved night and day so as not to be a burden on
any one of you
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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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You are the sons of those who murdered the prophets
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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.’
INTEGRITY IN
LEADERSHIP
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 Thessalonians 2:9-13; Ps 139:7-12; Mt 23:27-32 ]
All of us, even young
people, exercise some form of leadership in life. Very often, we think leadership is
to command people to do things; we give the order and they are supposed
to obey and follow. Leaders therefore talk a lot and tell people what to
do. Leadership is to get our subordinates to serve us. However,
such form of leadership is more of a dictatorship than anything else.
Perhaps, the greatest
challenge of a leader is to live an exemplary life, one that is impeccable and
praiseworthy. This requires that a leader conducts his life with
integrity. It
is always the lack of integrity between the personal and public life of a
leader that puts leadership in doubt today. Many people in the world have
lost confidence not just in corporate and political leadership but in religious
leadership as well. Indeed, Jesus advised His disciples, “therefore, do
whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do
not practice what they teach.” (Mt 23:3)
This lack of integrity
shows up firstly in hypocrisy. Jesus exposed the hypocrisy of the Jewish
leaders, saying,
“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.” Indeed, today, creating an impression means
everything. We are so easily impressed by how people dress, how they
talk, what they share; what they have, the cars they drive, who they associate
with, where they live and where they dine. However, behind the glib
tongue, the externals, the person is very different on the inside.
Their hearts are evil, selfish and self-centered. Their performance is to
impress so that they can win the hearts of people. But the motive is for
personal gain.
Such hypocrisy does not
just happen in the world but also for those of us who are in religion. We are often like them and behave
as such. We want the world to think that we are holy priests and
religious just because we don the Habit or wear the Roman collar.
Nevertheless, the moment we speak and act, people know how fake we are because
we do not demonstrate the compassion of Christ and His care and concern for the
flock. We are rude, arrogant and demanding, anything but humble and
selfless in service. So, too, for those who seem to be very active in
Church and even come for daily mass and engage in pious devotions and other
pious activities. Some of us might even be extra-ordinary ministers of
Holy Communion. However, their personal life at home and office is
anything but holy. They are abusive, nasty, ruthless and self-centered.
The lack of integrity is
also manifested in our inconsistency in words and actions. This was what the Lord said of the
Jewish leaders. “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.” Indeed, the Jewish leaders were living in
denial. They honoured the prophets that were killed by their
forefathers. They claimed innocence to being accomplices of such
crimes. But in their time, they continued to reject the prophets that God
sent to them in the persons of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. Like
their ancestors, they were too proud to listen to them or submit to the truth
of what they were teaching. They were blind to their own sins.
Indeed, like them, our
words and actions do not match. Priests
and religious can take the vow or promise of chastity, obedience and poverty
but never live them out. They want things their way. They are exclusive
in relationships and certainly not living a life of simplicity. So to
make promises and vows is one thing but to live them out is another. So,
too, for married couples. How many of them seriously put their marriage
vow to love our spouse more than ourselves; and to die for the good and
happiness of our spouse into practise? Most of the time, we expect our
spouse to serve us, to pamper us and to give in to our whims and fancies.
And we call that love!
Indeed, we live
hypocritical lives of inconsistency.
Many Catholics profess their faith in Christ and in the Church but the
directions they take in life are those values promoted by the world, which are
often against the teachings of the gospel. We are more interested in
subscribing to what the world is suggesting to us. I am often embarrassed
to hear people professing themselves to be Christians or Catholics but espouse
views that contradict the gospel and the Church teachings. They are
pseudo-Catholics and a counter-witness to our faith. Better they do not
claim to be Catholics. Of course, some Catholics select what they want to
believe. Those teachings they agree with, they follow. Yet the
stark truth is that if we believe only what we can accept, then what we really
believe in is ourselves and not what was taught by Christ or the Bible.
The truth is that we
cannot cheat God by living inconsistent hypocritical lives. We might be able to cheat some
people some time, and we can even cheat ourselves into believing that we are
such good, righteous and holy people. Our conscience will come back to
haunt us as the psalmist says, “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 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.”
Today, in the first
reading, we have the exemplary life of St Paul in the way he exercised his
leadership. His was a leadership by example. He lived out what he taught. As a
leader, he did not wish to be served but to serve. He said, “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.” Even though it was right that the people should support the
preacher, yet St Paul did not wish to make himself a burden to them. So
as a leader, he worked side by side with them to earn his keep. He was
one with them in the journey.
Secondly, as a leader,
he was inclusive and fair to all under his charge. He said, “You are witnesses, and so
is God, that our treatment of you, since you became believers, has been
impeccably right and fair.” For St Paul, everyone in the community is
important. Everyone is a child of God and in God’s eyes we are all equal
before Him. Leaders must regard all those under their care with respect
and impartiality. No one likes to be discriminated. So when
everyone is accorded their due respect and dignity, we pre-empt the growth of
jealousy, unhealthy competition and division in our community.
Unhappiness arises when the rights and dignity of people are violated.
Thirdly, St Paul’s
leadership was not one of ordering and commanding people under him; rather he
behaved as a father to the members of his community. He said, “You can remember how we
treated every one of you as a father treats his children.” He did not see
his fellow Christians as people he could make use of for his own benefit.
Rather, he saw them all as his children and like a caring father, “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.” His
only concern was that the Christians lived a life worthy of their vocation so
that they could ultimately, like Christ, share in the glory of His Father.
Fourthly, he taught by
enlightening and by encouraging. There was no pressure or coercion on his part. His leadership was anything but
dictatorial. Rather, he sought to enlighten them on the truths of Christ’s
message and that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Enlightening
them in the truth is the first step towards conversion and change of
heart. However, knowing the truth does not mean that we can immediately
live out what we believe, hence, the importance of encouragement and constant
invitation to live according to their Christian calling. We all need
reminders to be true to the gospel and we need encouragement so that we will
never give up hope on ourselves, especially when we fail.
Of course, all their
words and appeal would fall on deaf ears if the listeners were not docile or
receptive. If St Paul’s
preaching and ministering was effective with the Thessalonians, it was because
they accepted his message as God’s message. St Paul said, “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.” Unless we surrender in faith and believe that the
Word of God is a living word and when proclaimed it comes even more alive, we
will not be converted. Conversion of heart and mind can only happen when
we are humble and docile to the Word of God that is read and proclaimed to us
by the Church.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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