20210803 SIBLING AND LEADERSHIP RIVALRY
03 August, 2021, Tuesday, 18th Week, Ordinary Time
First reading | Numbers 12:1-13 © |
'How have you dared to speak against my servant Moses?'
Miriam, and Aaron too, spoke against Moses in connexion with the Cushite woman he had taken. (For he had married a Cushite woman.) They said, ‘Has the Lord spoken to Moses only? Has he not spoken to us too?’
The Lord heard this. Now Moses was the most humble of men, the humblest man on earth. Suddenly, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron and Miriam, ‘Come, all three of you, to the Tent of Meeting.’ They went, all three of them, and the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the Tent. He called Aaron and Miriam and they both came forward. The Lord said, ‘Listen now to my words: If any man among you is a prophet I make myself known to him in a vision, I speak to him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses: he is at home in my house; I speak with him face to face, plainly and not in riddles, and he sees the form of the Lord. How then have you dared to speak against my servant Moses?’
The anger of the Lord blazed out against them. He departed, and as soon as the cloud withdrew from the Tent, there was Miriam a leper, white as snow! Aaron turned to look at her; she had become a leper.
Aaron said to Moses: ‘Help me, my lord! Do not punish us for a sin committed in folly of which we are guilty. I entreat you, do not let her be like a monster, coming from its mother’s womb with flesh half corrupted.’
Moses cried to the Lord, ‘O God,’ he said ‘please heal her, I beg you!’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 50(51):3-7,12-13 © |
Have mercy on us, Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness.
In your compassion blot out my offence.
O wash me more and more from my guilt
and cleanse me from my sin.
Have mercy on us, Lord, for we have sinned.
My offences truly I know them;
my sin is always before me
Against you, you alone, have I sinned;
what is evil in your sight I have done.
Have mercy on us, Lord, for we have sinned.
That you may be justified when you give sentence
and be without reproach when you judge,
O see, in guilt I was born,
a sinner was I conceived.
Have mercy on us, Lord, for we have sinned.
A pure heart create for me, O God,
put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
nor deprive me of your holy spirit.
Have mercy on us, Lord, for we have sinned.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn8:12 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
anyone who follows me will have the light of life.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn1:49 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Rabbi, you are the Son of God,
you are the King of Israel.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Matthew 14:22-36 © |
Jesus walks on the water
Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he would send the crowds away. After sending the crowds away he went up into the hills by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, while the boat, by now far out on the lake, was battling with a heavy sea, for there was a head-wind. In the fourth watch of the night he went towards them, walking on the lake, and when the disciples saw him walking on the lake they were terrified. ‘It is a ghost’ they said, and cried out in fear. But at once Jesus called out to them, saying, ‘Courage! It is I! Do not be afraid.’ It was Peter who answered. ‘Lord,’ he said ‘if it is you, tell me to come to you across the water.’ ‘Come’ said Jesus. Then Peter got out of the boat and started walking towards Jesus across the water, but as soon as he felt the force of the wind, he took fright and began to sink. ‘Lord! Save me!’ he cried. Jesus put out his hand at once and held him. ‘Man of little faith,’ he said ‘why did you doubt?’ And as they got into the boat the wind dropped. The men in the boat bowed down before him and said, ‘Truly, you are the Son of God.’
Having made the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret. When the local people recognised him they spread the news through the whole neighbourhood and took all that were sick to him, begging him just to let them touch the fringe of his cloak. And all those who touched it were completely cured.
SIBLING AND LEADERSHIP RIVALRY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Num 12:1-13; Ps 51:3-7,12-13; Mt 14:22-36 ]
Rivalry among siblings is very common. People are always insecure and they seek power and influence. This is why siblings in the same family often vie for attention and recognition from their parents. Every child wants the parents to love him or her the most, and to be proud of them. So, they would compare and compete among themselves so that they could earn the parents’ love and recognition. As they get older, they also seek to protect their interests, especially when it comes to property and inheritance. There will always be the temptation to seek more of the inheritance than others.
So too is rivalry among leaders. Everyone leader seeks to be the most powerful among his peers. Sometimes, we wonder whether when one seeks leadership it is really for the good of the people or for themselves. How often do we hear the loser of an election say, “I will be back”, when he or she should be saying, “I respect the decision of the voters and will do my best to cooperate and collaborate with the new leadership.” Leadership in this instance is not so much about meeting the peoples’ interests but more about securing one’s power and status.
Rivalry, whether it is among siblings or leaders, leads to division in the family, the organization and the community. This is why it is important that such rivalry be dealt with decisively. The challenge to Moses’ leadership by his siblings, his elder sister, Miriam, and his brother, Aaron, was threatening to divide the community that had just come out of Egypt. How, then, should we deal with such divisive rivalry among siblings and leaders?
The first thing we need to do is to get to the root of the problem. We need to allow people to air their grievances. It appeared that Miriam and Aaron had difficulties because Moses married a Cushite woman. We are not told of the exact circumstances, whether it was because Moses married again or whether that woman was his first wife taken from Midian. Regardless, she was from another race. Hence, both of them were partly racist and partly seeking to protect their own roots. But perhaps, the real cause was not because Moses married a Cushite woman, as the people who left Egypt were not just the sons of Israel but a motley crowd of people including other races as well.
So we need to go beyond the apparent and external complaint to the real cause, which was simply jealousy. Miriam and Aaron were prophets in their own right because they had been gifted by the Lord. Hence, they said, “‘Has the Lord spoken to Moses only? Has he not spoken to us too?” We also remember that Miriam was the leader who led the women in songs and tambourines when they were delivered from the Egyptian army who pursued after them. (Ex 15:20f) So they felt threatened that Moses, their younger brother, had more influence than them. Furthermore, they could have felt slighted that their power and influence was trimmed further when Moses, under God’s instruction, appointed 70 elders to assist him in carrying the burden of looking after the needs of the people. (Num 11:16-25)
Indeed, when we find opposition in life, we need to try to understand the true situation instead of reacting and responding to the perceived complaints of our opponents or people. We must understand where their real grievance lies. In other words, most people do not reveal their motives when they make a complaint. They make it appear to be objective and reasonable but underlying their complaint is really anger, or resentment of some sort against perceived injustices, or simply because they are seized with envy, jealousy or greed.
It is significant that the scriptures tell us that in the face of such challenges, Moses remained quiet and was not defensive at all. This was because “Moses was the most humble of men, the humblest man on earth.” This double superlative emphasis on Moses’ humility as a leader is very edifying. That is the way all leaders should act, with magnanimity and humility towards those who disagree or criticize them unreasonably. Moses was not aggressive or offensive. In fact, he did not even defend himself or speak up at all. He never sought to be the leader of Israel. Right from the start when the Lord called him at the Burning Bush, he gave excuses that he was not the right man to deliver the people from Egypt because no one would believe him and he could not speak eloquently either. (Ex 3:13; 4:1,10-13) And when the people rebelled against God by committing the grievous sin of idolatry, he asked the Lord to take his life so that He could appoint a better leader. (Ex 32:32) Moses had no interest in seeking leadership for himself. He was only responding in obedience to God’s call. So his motive as a leader was pure.
However, God sought to put Miriam and Aaron in place. He summoned them to the Tent of Meeting. God in no uncertain terms endorsed Moses as His chosen leader. The Lord said, “Listen now to my words: If any man among you is a prophet. I make myself known to him in a vision, I speak to him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses: he is at home in my house; I speak with him face to face, plainly and not in riddles, and he sees the form of the Lord. How then have you dared to speak against my servant Moses?” Indeed, when God has chosen His leader, we can be certain that God would vindicate His chosen ones as He did with the prophets and our Lord Jesus Christ.
An important lesson to learn is the consequences of our sins. In seeking to humiliate the wife of Moses because she was from another race, most likely with darker skin, Miriam was struck with a skin infection that made her look like a white leper. In seeking to exclude Moses’ wife from the community, she was excluded from the community for a week. In thinking that they were recognized intercessors of the people, they had to turn to Moses instead to intercede for them. Truly, what we seek to destroy in others, will eventually destroy us. Nature or God will unleash the folly of our sinful conduct and expose us.
Hence, before such things happen, we must bring our grievances to the Lord in the Tent of Meeting. We must search our hearts and purify our motives. Coming before the Lord, we must in humility, like Moses, hear His words and submit in obedience. Unless we cultivate an intimacy with the Lord like Moses, we will be seeking recognition from others and from the world. When we have God’s approval, we do not need human approval. This is what the Lord said. “I do not accept glory from human beings. But I know that you do not have the love of God in you. How can you believe when you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the one who alone is God?” (Jn 5:41f, 45)
We must learn from St Peter in the gospel too. He was impulsive and too sure of himself. He said, “Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you across the water.” As he “started to walk towards Jesus across the water, but as soon as he felt the force of the wind, he took fright and began to sink. ‘Lord! Save me!’ he cried. Jesus put out his hand at once and held him. ‘Man of little faith,’ he said ‘why did you doubt?” So we need to continue to purify our faith. It is good that we seek to be firm in our faith but faith requires us to grow gradually. They were also involved in rivalry over leadership positions. (Mt 20:20-28) Peter and the other apostles still had many lessons to learn before they could come to realize the real identity of Jesus and submit to Him in faith totally, not just in mind but in heart. We too must grow in humility in service by finding strength and approval from God, not from men. This is the key to preventing ourselves from jealousy, envy, greed, insecurity and rivalry for positions in life.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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