20210126 WORTHY LIEUTENANTS
26 January, 2021, Tuesday, Ss Timothy and Titus, Bishops
First reading | 2 Timothy 1:1-8 © |
Fan into a flame the gift God gave you
From Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus in his design to promise life in Christ Jesus; to Timothy, dear child of mine, wishing you grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Lord.
Night and day I thank God, keeping my conscience clear and remembering my duty to him as my ancestors did, and always I remember you in my prayers; I remember your tears and long to see you again to complete my happiness. Then I am reminded of the sincere faith which you have; it came first to live in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and I have no doubt that it is the same faith in you as well.
That is why I am reminding you now to fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power, and love, and self-control. So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to the Lord, or ashamed of me for being his prisoner; but with me, bear the hardships for the sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God who has saved us and called us to be holy.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 95(96):1-3,7-8,10 © |
Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
O sing a new song to the Lord,
sing to the Lord all the earth.
O sing to the Lord, bless his name.
Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
Proclaim his help day by day,
tell among the nations his glory
and his wonders among all the peoples.
Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
Give the Lord, you families of peoples,
give the Lord glory and power;
give the Lord the glory of his name.
Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’
The world he made firm in its place;
he will judge the peoples in fairness.
Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.
Gospel Acclamation | Lk4:17 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord has sent me to bring the good news to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 10:1-9 © |
Your peace will rest on that man
The Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him, in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself was to visit. He said to them, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send labourers to his harvest. Start off now, but remember, I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road. Whatever house you go into, let your first words be, “Peace to this house!” And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you. Stay in the same house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to house. Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome, eat what is set before you. Cure those in it who are sick, and say, “The kingdom of God is very near to you.”’
WORTHY LIEUTENANTS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [2 TIM 1:1-8 OR TIT 1,1-5; PS 96:1-3,7-8,10; LK 10:1-9 ]
In the gospel, Jesus commissioned 72 disciples “and sent them out ahead of him, in pairs, to all the towns and places he himself was to visit.” These 72 were to prepare the way for the Lord to preach the gospel. In the meanwhile, they were to prepare the ground for the Lord by proclaiming the message of peace. He said, “Whatever house you go into, let your first words be, ‘Peace to this house!’. And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on him; if not, it will come back to you.” But it was more than just a nice greeting of peace, they were to cure those who were sick and say to them, “The kingdom of God is very near to you”.
Besides these 72 who were to assist the Lord in the preaching of the gospel, the Lord had earlier on also appointed the Twelve to be His lieutenants. (cf Lk 6:12-16) It is not sufficient to have soldiers, manpower and ground force but we need leaders to guide, lead, form, inspire and unite them so that all will be focused on a shared vision and mission. Indeed, the success of a leader is very much dependent on the lieutenants he has to assist him in the work and mission he has been entrusted. No leader can work alone, not even Jesus! We need to have a collaborative team of leaders that are supportive of the principal leader. Without good lieutenants, the soldiers would be ill-formed, misguided and poorly equipped for battle. Goodwill is not good enough but we need to harness the goodwill of everyone before we can succeed.
This is why St Paul always mentioned in his letters that he was a true apostle of the Lord, to make clear his authority to proclaim the gospel. His letter to Timothy began thus, “From Paul, appointed by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus in his design to promise life in Christ Jesus.” Again, to Titus, the alternative first reading for today’s celebration, St Paul asserted his apostleship when he wrote, “From Paul, servant of God, an apostle of Jesus Christ to bring those whom God has chosen to faith and to the knowledge of the truth that leads to true religion.” St Paul left no doubt that he was the chosen apostle of the Lord and therefore given the authority to proclaim the gospel.
In his passion for the spread of the gospel, St Paul established many Christian communities in Philippi, Corinth, Macedonia, Ephesus and other cities. After he left the place, he would appoint leaders or overseers or bishops like Timothy and Titus to look after them. Timothy was the bishop of Ephesus and Titus, the bishop of Crete. Both were great lieutenants of St Paul in ensuring that the gospel which he planted and the Church which he established would continue to grow. St Paul knew that he could not do this work alone. Right from the start of his missionary trips, St Paul was conscious of the need to find the right collaborators for his work. He had some unpleasant working relationship with John Mark. So in the second missionary trip, he took Silas, splitting with Barnabas who took John Mark with him. (Acts 15:40) Choosing the right persons for the team is essential for the success of the mission. Hence, after a sharp disagreement, the split was inevitable. But it was for the good of all because leaders must be able to work together in unity.
For St Paul, it was not just about appointing leaders to assist him, but he was ever ready to mentor and encourage them. The weakness for most leaders is that they are so busy getting their plans to materialize, attending to the many challenges and difficulties they face each day, that they have no time to mentor their leaders working for them. They are appointed and left on their own. St Paul always found time to mentor and encourage his leaders, as we can see in the letters of Paul to Timothy and Titus, encouraging them to be strong leaders, reminding them their duties, and encouraging them when under trials.
Indeed, when we read St Paul’s letter to Timothy, we see the fatherly figure in St Paul, who by now was a prisoner for the Lord. He addressed Timothy as a “dear child of mine” and in the first letter, he called, “Timothy, my loyal child in the faith.” (1 Tim 1:2). He expressed how he always remembered him in his prayers. “I remember your tears and long to see you again to complete my happiness.” He encouraged him to stand firm in the faith and “fight the good fight, having faith and a good conscience.” (1 Tim 1:18f) Most of all, St Paul led by example. He wrote to him, “As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day.” (2 Tim 4:6-8)
What is said of Paul’s fatherly concern for Timothy is also true for Titus as well. In the alternative reading, St Paul also addressed Titus, “true child of mine in the faith that we share, wishing you grace and peace from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our saviour.” Titus was a Gentile and most likely came to faith through St Paul’s preaching at Iconium. St Paul did not want Titus to be circumcised to underscore that the gospel is for the Gentiles as well. St Paul took Titus with him to Jerusalem to attend the Apostolic Council, where it was agreed that the Gentile Christians were freed from the constraints of the Mosaic Law. St Paul exhorted him to be faithful to the faith. “I desire that you insist on these things, so that those who have come to believe in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works; these things are excellent and profitable to everyone.” (Tit 3:8) St Paul found him to be potentially a good leader because he was well formed in the faith and had the gift of dealing with difficult and explosive situations. St Paul sent him to the Church in Corinth with his letters to deal with the disunity and immorality there. (2 Cor 2:3-4, 13; 7:6-16; 8:16-24) He was also dispatched to Crete to continue the work that Paul had started in Crete by putting the structures in place. St Paul wrote, “The reason I left you behind in Crete was for you to get everything organised there and appoint elders in every town, in the way that I told you.”
Although it is true that St Paul mentored the young bishops to take over from him, yet, credit must also go to them because they cooperated with St Paul. Timothy was a docile follower of St Paul. He became Paul’s close friend and confidante. He was always supportive of St Paul. When Paul was forced to flee from Berea, he stayed behind and later was sent to Thessalonica to encourage the Christians who were under persecution. He was most likely with Paul when he was imprisoned in Caesarea and later in Rome. He was a great consolation to St Paul. Titus too was a great blessing to Paul. He called him his brother (2 Cor 2:13) and “partner and co-worker.” (2 Cor 8:23) They were ready collaborators. They were willing to take instructions from St Paul and looked to him as their father, mentor and leader in faith.
Unfortunately, this is not the case today, whether in the political, corporate or even religious world. Junior leaders driven by ego and ambition are working not for their leaders or even in union with them, but for themselves. Such leaders can be talented but they divide the community and undermine the authority of their leaders. They are more concerned about their position, their power and their prospects than really being a help to their leaders. This results in politicking, jealousy, competition and protectionism. They lack loyalty and humility.
Finding the right collaborators who are intelligent and gifted and yet able to work with and for the leader is truly a great challenge today. Like Jesus, we need to spend the whole night in prayer to look for potential lieutenants whom we can mentor and journey to take over from us. We need to be on the look-out for potential leaders, and once they are found, to be ready to guide and form them instead of leaving them on their own. Selecting the right lieutenants, mentoring them and being a father and friend to them is the key to ensuring that they will continue the legacy and the faith tradition that is handed on to them.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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