20210818 FINDING GOOD PEOPLE TO LEAD
18 August, 2021, Wednesday, 20th Week, Ordinary Time
First reading | Judges 9:6-15 © |
The tale of the trees and their king
All the leading men of Shechem and all Beth-millo gathered, and proclaimed Abimelech king by the terebinth of the pillar at Shechem.
News of this was brought to Jotham. He came and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted aloud for them to hear:
‘Hear me, leaders of Shechem,
that God may also hear you!
‘One day the trees went out
to anoint a king to rule over them.
They said to the olive tree, “Be our king!”
‘The olive tree answered them,
“Must I forego my oil
which gives honour to gods and men,
to stand swaying above the trees?”
‘Then the trees said to the fig tree,
“Come now, you be our king!”
‘The fig tree answered them,
“Must I forego my sweetness,
forego my excellent fruit,
to stand swaying above the trees?”
‘Then the trees said to the vine,
“Come now, you be our king!”
‘The vine answered them,
“Must I forego my wine
which cheers the heart of gods and men,
to stand swaying above the trees?”
‘Then all the trees said to the thorn bush,
“Come now, you be our king!”
‘And the thorn bush answered the trees,
“If in all good faith you anoint me king to reign over you,
then come and shelter in my shade.
If not, fire will come from the thorn bush
and devour the cedars of Lebanon.”’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 20(21):2-7 © |
O Lord, your strength gives joy to the king.
O Lord, your strength gives joy to the king;
how your saving help makes him glad!
You have granted him his heart’s desire;
you have not refused the prayer of his lips.
O Lord, your strength gives joy to the king.
You came to meet him with the blessings of success,
you have set on his head a crown of pure gold.
He asked you for life and this you have given,
days that will last from age to age.
O Lord, your strength gives joy to the king.
Your saving help has given him glory.
You have laid upon him majesty and splendour,
you have granted your blessings to him forever.
You have made him rejoice with the joy of your presence.
O Lord, your strength gives joy to the king.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps118:135 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Let your face shine on your servant,
and teach me your decrees.
Alleluia!
Or: | Heb4:12 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 20:1-16 © |
Why be envious because I am generous?
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner going out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard. He made an agreement with the workers for one denarius a day, and sent them to his vineyard. Going out at about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market place and said to them, “You go to my vineyard too and I will give you a fair wage.” So they went. At about the sixth hour and again at about the ninth hour, he went out and did the same. Then at about the eleventh hour he went out and found more men standing round, and he said to them, “Why have you been standing here idle all day?” “Because no one has hired us” they answered. He said to them, “You go into my vineyard too.” In the evening, the owner of the vineyard said to his bailiff, “Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last arrivals and ending with the first.” So those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came forward and received one denarius each. When the first came, they expected to get more, but they too received one denarius each. They took it, but grumbled at the landowner. “The men who came last” they said “have done only one hour, and you have treated them the same as us, though we have done a heavy day’s work in all the heat.” He answered one of them and said, “My friend, I am not being unjust to you; did we not agree on one denarius? Take your earnings and go. I choose to pay the last comer as much as I pay you. Have I no right to do what I like with my own? Why be envious because I am generous?” Thus the last will be first, and the first, last.’
FINDING GOOD PEOPLE TO LEAD
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Jdg 9:6-15; Ps 20:2-7; Mt 20:1-16 ]
Good leaders with integrity and wisdom, and most of all, with a genuine heart to serve the community are rare. Whether it is religious, political or corporate leadership, there is a dearth of good leaders with strong moral principles and selfless service. Today’s leaders are chosen not because they have integrity but because they can raise productivity and bring prosperity to the organization or the country. Worse still, in some places, leaders are chosen because of good and effective publicity and popularity promoted by the media. Yet, we cannot truly blame the world for choosing the wrong people to lead us, simply because the few truly good and capable people are not ready to sacrifice their lives for the service of the people. This was the situation after the death of Gideon. Gideon had 70 sons. Not all were capable to succeed him but there were a few good ones.
The parable of the Tree told by Jotham implies that those few good leaders were not ready to give up their happiness for something which they had no interest in. The olive tree answered them, “Must I forego my oil which gives honour to gods and men, to stand swaying above the trees?” The fig tree answered them, “Must I forego my sweetness, forego my excellent fruit, to stand swaying above the trees?” The vine answered them, ‘Must I forego my wine which cheers the heart of gods and men, to stand swaying above the trees?” Indeed, this is the same reason why we do not have good leaders in the political and religious world. Political and religious office demands much sacrifices, not just in terms of privacy but often financially as well, especially if they conduct themselves with integrity. As leaders, they are often under public scrutiny and lack the freedom to go where they like or just be themselves. Many, because they are very capable, could make more money in the corporate world than holding a political or religious office.
This is even more true in religious life, especially in the Catholic Church. Whilst our people today have very high expectations of the priests we produce, yet very few are giving themselves up for this service. They demand that our priests be intelligent, eloquent, good in management and public relations, are hardworking, humble, selfless and always available day and night, patient, tolerant, always in control of his emotions, kind and forgiving, detached from the worldly pleasures of life, and are scandal-free. They pray for more vocations, but ask that God does not take their son or daughter, or boyfriend or girlfriend from them!
So when good candidates cannot be found, we choose the second best or worse still, those who are unfit to assume leadership. In many ways, the quality of our religious leaders has been compromised in many parts of the world. The pressure of demands and needs have forced the Church to accept candidates without much screening, and often with much compromises. We take them from third-world countries as there are many vocations, even though we do not know which are genuine vocations and which are trying to escape the poverty cycle. Then we have good and intelligent candidates, but they also come with big egos and ambition. Truly, finding selfless, humble, holy and wise leaders is a difficult task.
Yet, when good people refuse to serve in public office, the people and the country will suffer. In trying to protect their own interests, their happiness, when the country or a religion is ruled by self-centred, egoistic and morally starved leaders without integrity, the entire country and the religion will have a credibility issue. The lack of trust in public leaders will lead to corruption, resentment and disillusionment. Indeed, today’s parable of the Trees took place at Shechem where Joshua renewed the Covenant with the people who promised to be faithful to the Covenant and live a life of integrity and justice. (Jos 24) Instead of finding a leader with integrity and honesty, they chose Abimelech, the thorn bush to be King of Israel.
Jotham proclaimed the judgment of God on them. “The thorn bush answered the trees, if in all good faith you anoint me king to reign over you, then come and shelter in my shade. If not, fire will come from the thorn bush and devour the cedars of Lebanon.” The truth was that the people did not act in good faith and honour in choosing Abimelech king when he betrayed his own father, Gideon, and killed all his 70 sons to snatch the throne from them. For failing to choose a leader with integrity, the people would ultimately suffer. By choosing one with selfish ambition, unscrupulous in his dealings, power-hungry, those who chose him would be devoured by him as well. As a thorn bush, one cannot expect to find shade and refuge in him.
This would be the situation and consequence for our country and our religion as well when we do not find good, capable, honest and selfless people to serve the people. Those who think that they can continue to be prosperous, safe where they are, are short-sighted because when political and religious leaders are corrupt, the country would go to the dogs. When credibility and trust is lacking, the country would be divided, and people will lose faith in God and in their religious leaders. Morality will suffer and there will be racial and religious division and tension. A country without morality will not become prosperous because eventually moral decadence will bring down the people. When the people are without eternal values, each one would live for himself only.
This is why in today’s gospel, Jesus asked for the right motivation in following Him. Earlier on, He told the rich man who was self-righteous, thinking that he had done everything the laws demanded, that he had yet to give everything to the poor and then follow Him. In other words, he was still clinging to his security, wealth, self-sufficiency and power. He was not putting God as the centre of His life and allowing God to rule Him. Rather, he was straddling between the world of idolatry and God. He wanted to serve God and mammon. (Mt 19:20-22) Then following this incident, Peter and the apostles exposed their self-centred motives when they asked the Lord, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” (Mt 19:27) Peter and the apostles were still thinking in terms of material benefits and personal gain, just like some of our leaders. They were asking, “what do I get out of my efforts” not “how much more can I give myself to God and my people.”
The parable of the laborers in the vineyard is a clear reminder that whatever we have come from God. It is pure grace. We must not demand special rights just because we have worked harder than the rest. Whether we are called in the first or eleventh hour, it does not matter. God wants us to be gainfully employed in whatever He has given us to do. The grace of God is given to all according to God’s choice and time. Whether we are Jews or Gentiles, early converts to Christianity or baptized at death-bed, we are all equal before the eyes of God. This is what the Lord told those workers who begrudged those who came late. The owner said, “I choose to pay the last-comer as much as I pay you. Have I no right to do what I like with my own? Why be envious because I am generous?” We should be grateful for the privilege of coming to know the Lord earlier instead of being resentful of those who came later and now are able to share the same joy we have.
We all have been given the necessary graces to cooperate with the plan of God. It is God’s desire that all of us will come to know Him and share in His life and love. The ultimate reward of service is not about material payment for the work we do. It is not about our position and privileges of the office. The joy of a Christian who gives himself in service or in leadership is the joy of serving God and our fellowmenwithout conditions, and selflessly. When a service is given purely out of love, it is accepted with gratitude. When we are hirelings, then as the Lord said, it is mercenary work. “The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away – and the wolf snatches them and scatters them because a hired hand does not care for the sheep.” (Jn 10:12f) So let us answer the call of Jesus, to be good shepherds looking after His sheep, that “they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (Jn 10:10)
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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