20190917
DOING
FLOWS FROM BEING
17 SEPTEMBER,
2019, Tuesday, 24th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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1 Timothy 3:1-13 ©
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Here is a saying that you can rely on: To
want to be a presiding elder is to want to do a noble work. That is why the
president must have an impeccable character. He must not have been married more
than once, and he must be temperate, discreet and courteous, hospitable and a
good teacher; not a heavy drinker, nor hot-tempered, but kind and peaceable. He
must not be a lover of money. He must be a man who manages his own family well
and brings his children up to obey him and be well-behaved: how can any man who
does not understand how to manage his own family have responsibility for the
church of God? He should not be a new convert, in case pride might turn his
head and then he might be condemned as the devil was condemned. It is also
necessary that people outside the Church should speak well of him, so that he
never gets a bad reputation and falls into the devil’s trap.
In
the same way, deacons must be respectable men whose word can be trusted,
moderate in the amount of wine they drink and with no squalid greed for money.
They must be conscientious believers in the mystery of the faith. They are to
be examined first, and only admitted to serve as deacons if there is nothing
against them. In the same way, the women must be respectable, not gossips but
sober and quite reliable. Deacons must not have been married more than once,
and must be men who manage their children and families well. Those of them who
carry out their duties well as deacons will earn a high standing for themselves
and be rewarded with great assurance in their work for the faith in Christ
Jesus.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 100(101):1-3,5,6 ©
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I will walk with
blameless heart.
My song is of mercy and justice;
I sing to you, O Lord.
I will walk in the way of perfection.
O when, Lord, will you come?
I will walk with
blameless heart.
I will walk with blameless heart
within my house;
I will not set before my eyes
whatever is base.
I will walk with
blameless heart.
The man who slanders his neighbour in
secret
I will bring to silence.
The man of proud looks and haughty heart
I will never endure.
I will walk with
blameless heart.
I look to the faithful in the land
that they may dwell with me.
He who walks in the way of perfection
shall be my friend.
I will walk with
blameless heart.
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Gospel Acclamation
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cf.2Tim1:10
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death
and he has proclaimed life through the
Good News.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Lk7:16
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Alleluia, alleluia!
A great prophet has appeared among us;
God has visited his people.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 7:11-17 ©
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Jesus went to a town called Nain,
accompanied by his disciples and a great number of people. When he was near the
gate of the town it happened that a dead man was being carried out for burial,
the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a considerable number of
the townspeople were with her. When the Lord saw her he felt sorry for her. ‘Do
not cry’ he said. Then he went up and put his hand on the bier and the bearers
stood still, and he said, ‘Young man, I tell you to get up.’ And the dead man
sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Everyone was filled
with awe and praised God saying, ‘A great prophet has appeared among us; God
has visited his people.’ And this opinion of him spread throughout Judaea and
all over the countryside.
DOING FLOWS FROM
BEING
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 1 TIm 3:1-13; Ps 101:1-3, 5, 6; Lk 7: 11-17 ]
The scripture readings
of the day provide the criteria for selecting Church leaders, especially
clerics. There are many
good-will Catholics who aspire to be priests, religious and lay leaders.
There is nothing wrong in desiring to be leaders in the Church. St Paul
wrote, “To want to be a presiding elder is to want to do a noble work.”
Of course, the motive to be a Church leader must spring from the fact that we
want to make a difference in the lives of others, we want to serve and
transform lives, give people hope and make this world a better place.
Indeed, Jesus reminded the apostles who aspired for leadership, “whoever wishes
to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes 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.” (Mt 20:26-28) Indeed, St Paul
reminded us that the Christian leader must be one who is free from greed for
money or power. If it were for power or money, he will be corrupt and
serve only those who could enrich him. Money and power are very grave
temptations in Christian leadership because of the trust and love people accord
to religious people.
Once the motive is
determined, the next step is to discern whether we have what it takes to be a
Church leader. If
Christian leadership is humble service, then Christian leaders must be
conscious of acquiring the necessary virtues to lead.
The first prerequisite
of a Christian leader is that he or she must have an impeccable
character. This
does not mean that a leader has to be flawless or perfect in every way.
However, the character must not give cause for scandals. This was what St
Paul himself sought in his own ministry. “We are putting no obstacle in
anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as
servants of God we have commended ourselves in every way: through great
endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments,
riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; by purity, knowledge, patience,
kindness, holiness of spirit, genuine love, truthful speech, and the power
of God.” (2 Cor 6:3-7)
Hence, the advice of St Paul, “It is also necessary that people outside the
Church should speak well of him, so that he never gets a bad reputation and
falls into the devil’s trap.” Similarly, he wrote, “the women must be
respectable, not gossips but sober and quite reliable.”
Secondly, he or she must
be someone who is faithful to God and to his or her commitments. He or she must be singular-minded
in what he or she says and does. Hence, St Paul says, “he must not have
been married more than once.” With deacons, St Paul said, “Deacons must
not have been married more than once, and must be men who manage their children
and families well.” The inability to sustain a marriage or manage a
family could indicate the incapacity of one to lead by example or someone not
capable of selfless love, a love that is supportive, caring and forgiving.
If we cannot even manage our little family, how can one manage the family
of God? Of course, it might not be entirely the person’s fault in the
failed relationship. Nevertheless, it takes two hands to clap. Marriage,
like the Sacrament of Orders, requires people who are mature in love and
faithful in relationships. If a person is changing partners too often, it
is most unlikely the person will stay faithful to his ministry.
Thirdly, a leader must
be calm and levelheaded.
Otherwise, he or she would react to every situation out of proportion.
Every reaction will cause further reactions. A leader needs to be prudent
in knowing when to act and how to act. That is why St Paul says, he must
not be “hot-tempered, but kind and peaceable.” A leader seeks to be a
peacemaker and a mediator among others. His or her task is to foster
unity among members of the organization he or she is leading so that together
all can work for the glory of God and for their own spiritual growth. So
when a Christian leader throws tantrums, shouts and screams at people, he or
she loses their respect. We must remind ourselves that we are servants
not just of Christ but of His people and so we must always remain calm,
even-handed and firm.
Fourthly, a Christian
leader is a man or woman of moderation. He or she must be a balanced
person who does not take extreme positions; otherwise he or she cannot be a
unifying agent. He
or she seeks to understand the different positions and views of people and
works to bring about a consensus and greater commonality among people. He
or she is one who respects the differences and the diverse needs and
aspirations of people without imposing his personal preferences on
others. St Augustine advises us thus, “in essentials, unity; in non-essentials,
diversity; in all things, charity.” When a leader adopts an extremist
position, he or she divorces and alienates the people from him/her. That
is why, when it comes to essentials, which refers to the common values that all
people of goodwill hold, a Christian leader does not compromise. But in
other matters, a leader should allow some diversity because we are all
different due to our past experiences, culture, upbringing and environment.
Fifthly, he or she must
be a person with self-control. A leader must be self-disciplined before
he or she could form disciples. St Paul says, he must be “a good teacher; not a heavy
drinker, nor hot-tempered.” With the deacons, he reiterated again, “In
the same way, deacons must be respectable men whose word can be trusted,
moderate in the amount of wine they drink and with no squalid greed for
money.” Without self-control, a leader is not able to lead. He must
exercise self-control with regard to his temper, his love for food, drinks and
luxury. If he were a slave to the world and his passions, he would
not be free enough to lead his people. Self-control and moderation are
necessary virtues that a Christian leader must exhibit. Indeed, St Paul
wrote to the Romans, “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 2:19-23)
Sixthly, a Christian
leader must be sensitive to the feelings of others. He or she does not speak without
thinking through or without taking into consideration the feelings of
others. In the gospel, Jesus taught us the golden rule, “In everything do
to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the
prophets.” (Mt 7:12) So
leaders must be watchful of what they say and how they say it because it leaves
an impact on our listeners. We can either stir them to positive or
negative actions. A leader therefore must not use harsh words or
reprimand people in public. All corrections must be done with charity and
sensitivity to the dignity of the person. We cannot just say what we like
as people do in social media, uttering the most despicable, uncharitable and
destructive words on people that they do not like or not happy with. Such
people lack graciousness and even as they judge others, they are judged in
return because as Jesus said, “Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye,
but do not notice the log in your own eye?” (Mt 7:3) Indeed, Jesus demonstrated great
sensitivity to the suffering of the widow who had lost not just her husband but
also her only son. “When the Lord saw her he felt sorry for her. ‘Do not
cry’ he said.”
Finally, with
sensitivity comes compassion. When we are sensitive to the feelings and dignity of
our brothers and sisters, we become more compassionate. The word
“compassion” means having a common passion. Compassion simply means to
identify with the feelings of another. When we are mutually identified
with each other in our joys, sorrows, pains and aspirations, we are united in
love. If people lack compassion, it is because they are so absorbed in their
own needs or pains that they are no longer able to feel with the pains and
sufferings of others. Hence, Jesus always acted out of compassion for the
people that He lived with. “Then he went up and put his hand on the
bier and the bearers stood still, and he said, ‘Young man, I tell you to get
up.’ And the dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him to his
mother.”
Above all, Christian
leaders must be “conscientious believers in the mystery of the faith.” Only those who have deep faith in
our Lord can, in spite of their limitations and weaknesses, turn to the Lord
for help and guidance. Pride and the lack of faith will be the cause of
the leader’s downfall. Hence, St Paul advised accordingly, “He should not be a
new convert; in case pride might turn his head and then he might be condemned
as the devil was condemned.” Unless we are fervent in our faith in Christ
and our love for Him and we come to Him often in daily prayer and worship, we
cannot be truly leaders for Christ. Indeed, in the final analysis, to be
a Christian leader is to be Christ to all and to radiate the Father’s love and
presence, so that people would also say this of us as they said about Jesus,
“Everyone was filled with awe and praised God saying, ‘A great prophet has
appeared among us; God has visited his people.'”
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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