20211017 ACCOMPANYING LEADERSHIP
17 October, 2021, Sunday, 29th Week, Ordinary Time
First reading | Isaiah 53:10-11 © |
If he offers his life in atonement, what the Lord wishes will be done
The Lord has been pleased to crush his servant with suffering.
If he offers his life in atonement,
he shall see his heirs, he shall have a long life
and through him what the Lord wishes will be done.
His soul’s anguish over,
he shall see the light and be content.
By his sufferings shall my servant justify many,
taking their faults on himself.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 32(33):4-5,18-20,22 © |
May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
The word of the Lord is faithful
and all his works to be trusted.
The Lord loves justice and right
and fills the earth with his love.
May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
The Lord looks on those who revere him,
on those who hope in his love,
to rescue their souls from death,
to keep them alive in famine.
May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
Our soul is waiting for the Lord.
The Lord is our help and our shield.
May your love be upon us, O Lord,
as we place all our hope in you.
May your love be upon us, O Lord, as we place all our hope in you.
Second reading | Hebrews 4:14-16 © |
Our high priest is one who has been tempted in every way that we are
Since in Jesus, the Son of God, we have the supreme high priest who has gone through to the highest heaven, we must never let go of the faith that we have professed. For it is not as if we had a high priest who was incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us; but we have one who has been tempted in every way that we are, though he is without sin. Let us be confident, then, in approaching the throne of grace, that we shall have mercy from him and find grace when we are in need of help.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn14:6 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;
No one can come to the Father except through me.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mk10:45 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Son of Man came to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 10:35-45 © |
The Son of Man came to give his life as a ransom for many
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, approached Jesus. ‘Master,’ they said to him ‘we want you to do us a favour.’ He said to them, ‘What is it you want me to do for you?’ They said to him, ‘Allow us to sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your glory.’ ‘You do not know what you are asking’ Jesus said to them. ‘Can you drink the cup that I must drink, or be baptised with the baptism with which I must be baptised?’ They replied, ‘We can.’ Jesus said to them, ‘The cup that I must drink you shall drink, and with the baptism with which I must be baptised you shall be baptised, but as for seats at my right hand or my left, these are not mine to grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted.’
When the other ten heard this they began to feel indignant with James and John, so Jesus called them to him and said to them, ‘You know that among the pagans their so-called rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all. For the Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’
ACCOMPANYING LEADERSHIP
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Isa 53:10-11; Ps 33; Heb 4:14-16; Mk 10:35-45 (or Mk 10:42-45)]
Last Sunday, in St Peter’s Basilica, the Holy Father inaugurated the opening of the Synodal Process to be undertaken by the entire Church, beginning with the parishes, from all sectors of life, organizations, movements to the diocese, the Bishop’s conferences, Regional conferences and climaxing in the 16th Synod of Bishops in Rome in 2023. The theme is: For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission. Today, the particular churches are invited to initiate this Synodal Process within their own diocese. Pope Francis, in convoking this process, desires that the entire Church journeys together as we reflect on the life and mission of the Church. In this way, by journeying and reflecting together, the Church can learn from each other to live out the spirit of communion, increase active participation and strengthen commitment to the mission of the Church. Indeed, today’s scripture readings are very appropriate in helping us to acquire the right disposition in this Synodal Process.
The first two readings speak of Jesus’ identification with the sufferings and weakness of humanity. The first reading taken from Isaiah’s Suffering Servant Song, speaks of God’s representative as one would suffer with and for the People of God. Not only would He suffer grievously but He would die in the process. But the Servant’s death would not be in vain because God would raise and exalt Him, and God’s plan would prevail when His servant’s death brings satisfaction for the sins of His people. Then “His soul’s anguish over, he shall see the light and be content. By his sufferings shall my servant justify many, taking their faults on himself.” Truly, the Suffering Servant is seen as the channel of God’s grace to His sinful people. In Him, we see the priest, the servant, the sacrifice, the intercessor and the redeemer. He is identified with every man who suffers from injustice and sin.
In the second reading from the letter to the Hebrews, the author underscores the greatness of Jesus’ divinity. Jesus is “the Son of God, we have the supreme high priest who has gone through to the highest heaven.” Yet, even in His greatness and in the Highest heaven, Jesus is never far or distant from us. On the contrary, Jesus assumed our humanity and is completely identified with man. “It is not as if we had a high priest who was incapable of feeling our weaknesses with us; but we have one who has been tempted in every way that we are, though he is without sin.” Indeed, Jesus feels with every man in his temptation, struggles and tensions. Jesus was tempted far beyond anyone of us in His ministry, at the very onset of His ministry in the Wilderness after 40 days of fasting, during His ministry and at the end of His ministry as He struggled to do God’s will at the Garden of Gethsemane.
For this reason, we can be sure of Jesus’ empathy and sympathy for us in our own struggles against temptation and sin. Jesus is a loving and compassionate God who feels with us. This is why we can be sure of God’s mercy in Him because He understands. God was not sheltered from the sufferings of humanity, otherwise He would not be able to feel with us. This is why the author urges us, “Let us be confident, then, in approaching the throne of grace, that we shall have mercy from him and find grace when we are in need of help.” Because Jesus had gone through the same route in a greater intensity than we would have gone through, we can be sure He would be able to help us, encourage us, intercede for us and be merciful in judgment as well. This explains why Jesus is all mercy and truly sympathetic to the sins of His fellowmen. He is patient and forgiving.
Within this context, we can appreciate the Holy Father’s call to the whole Church to journey with each other, listening to each other’s struggles and aspirations. For too long, the Church has been one-sided, too clerical and hierarchical. The laity’s contribution to the Church has never been taken seriously. Although Pope Emeritus Benedict had spoken of the laity as collaborators and co-responsible for the mission of the Church, we have never empowered the laity. How can one be co-responsible if one has no juridical authority in the Church to act? For too long, most of the decisions of the Church and the consultations were done among bishops, clergy and religious. Of course, over the years, increasingly under the reign of this current Pope, there has been a deliberate attempt to include more lay people in the hierarchical structure of the Church so that a more diverse and comprehensive voice can be heard. If discussion and collaboration is confined mostly to clergy and religious, then we will only get a partial view of the real situation confronting our people who are in the world, struggling to be faithful to their marriage, raising up a Catholic family, applying the gospel values in their work and businesses. Hence, this Synodal Process is a great opportunity for all sectors of the People of God, which includes the clergy, to journey together through sharing of views, experiences, struggles, and ideas to meet the challenges of today’s world so that our faith will remain relevant, impactful and uplifting for our people.
The gospel passage is a clear reminder for those of us who are in authority, whether clerical, religious or lay, that authority is given only for one reason, that is for service. We must be watchful that spiritual worldliness does not enter our Church, especially through our leaders. The truth is, leaders are tempted to abuse the power vested in them. We all like to think of leadership in terms of lording over others, even though not all think that way. Lord Acton in 1887 is often quoted for his perception when he said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” Whilst it may not be true in all cases, each one of us must examine ourselves honestly because all human leaders, including the clergy and religious, are men and women with feet of clay. Even the apostles in today’s gospel were squabbling over positions, power and glory. We are not gods, and often, the Devil leads us on an ego trip by making use of our power to control and dominate the lives of others. Leaders who act in such a manner bring more harm than good to the community.
It is therefore important for us to be reminded by our Lord on what leadership is all about. He said, “You know that among the pagans their so-called rulers lord it over them, and their great men make their authority felt. This is not to happen among you. No; anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all. For the Son of Man himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Leadership is servanthood. It is not lording over others but to be at their service. Leaders must therefore lead in humility, like a servant and a slave to all. Greatness is not about position, honour and power.
Jesus shows us the supreme example of what such a service entails, namely death! Jesus abandoned His status to assume our humanity to suffer with us and for us. (Phil 2:5-8) His death is for us our ransom. He is our substitution to set us free from our sins. He drank the cup on our behalf, made sin for our sake, and suffered the punishment of sin. He drank the cup of God’s wrath. (cf Ps 75:7-8, Jer 25:15f) The baptism that He spoke of was a baptism of suffering and death. In His baptism, He identified with us sinners by standing in line with His people to be baptized by John the Baptist. We too must be identified with all.
Today, if we want to share the glory of Jesus that James and John sought, then we must be ready to drink the cup that He drank and be baptised with the baptism with which He was baptized. Concretely, it means that we are ready to undertake the call of the Holy Father to the entire Church to walk together in humility, in dialogue, listening to each other so that through a greater appreciation of each other’s struggles, we can offer better pastoral approaches and advance further in theological thinking to make the gospel truly relevant to our lives. Let us walk by the Holy Spirit given to us at our baptism, the common gift we have all received that made us adopted sons and daughters of God. Only through listening to the Holy Spirit, can we bring about a greater communion among ourselves, and most of all, revitalized to spread the Good News after being enlightened, strengthened and empowered.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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