20220115 LEADERSHIP IN MERCY AND COMPASSION
15 January, 2022, Saturday, Week 1 in Ordinary Time
First reading |
1 Samuel 9:1-4,17-19,10:1 © |
The Lord chooses Saul as king; Samuel anoints him
Among the men of Benjamin there was a man named Kish son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah; a Benjaminite and a man of rank. He had a son named Saul, a handsome man in the prime of life. Of all the Israelites there was no one more handsome than he; he stood head and shoulders taller than the rest of the people. Now some of the she-donkeys of Saul’s father Kish had strayed, so Kish said to Saul, ‘My son, take one of the servants with you and be off; go and look for the she-donkeys.’ They passed through the highlands of Ephraim and passed through the land of Shalishah, but did not find them; they passed through the land of Shaalim, they were not there; they passed through the land of Benjamin, but did not find them.
When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, ‘That is the man of whom I told you; he shall rule my people.’ Saul accosted Samuel in the gateway and said, ‘Tell me, please, where the seer’s house is?’ Samuel replied to Saul, ‘I am the seer. Go up ahead of me to the high place. You are to eat with me today. In the morning I shall take leave of you and tell you all that is in your heart.’
Samuel took a phial of oil and poured it on Saul’s head; then he kissed him, saying, ‘Has not the Lord anointed you prince over his people Israel? You are the man who must rule the Lord’s people, and who must save them from the power of the enemies surrounding them.’
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 | Ps118:36,29 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Bend my heart to your will, O Lord,
and teach me your law.
Alleluia!
Or: | Lk4:17 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord has sent me to bring the good news to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 2:13-17 © |
Your light must shine in the sight of men
Jesus went out to the shore of the lake; and all the people came to him, and he taught them. As he was walking on he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus, sitting by the customs house, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.
When Jesus was at dinner in his house, a number of tax collectors and sinners were also sitting at the table with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many of them among his followers. When the scribes of the Pharisee party saw him eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ When Jesus heard this he said to them, ‘It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.’
LEADERSHIP IN MERCY AND COMPASSION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 Sm 9:1-4,17-19,10:1; Ps 21:2-7; Mk 2:13-17]
In the olden days, kings were not just political or military leaders but they were seen as spiritual leaders as well. This was the case not just in Israel alone, but some kings in other nations as well, like Pharaoh who was also anointed as he represented their gods. For Israel, there was only one King and that was Yahweh alone. There was only one army commander – Yahweh was the Lord of Hosts. But “The people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, ‘No! but we are determined to have a king over us, so that we also may be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.'” (1 Sm 8:19f)
In the choice of the king, the author made it a point to highlight that the first king that was chosen was “Saul, a handsome man in the prime of life. Of all the Israelites there was no one more handsome than he; he stood head and shoulders taller than the rest of the people.” His height was highlighted, for the Philistines and their enemies were known to be people much taller than them. (Num 13:25-33) We would remember how David, the boy who fought with Goliath, a giant compared to him. (1 Sm 17) Furthermore, the choice of Saul suggests that he came from an influential family, for his father was a man of rank and wealth. He was therefore in a favourable position to be chosen to lead Israel. The Lord was giving them the desires of their heart for a king, “like all the other nations.” (1 Sm 8:20)
To show displeasure in their demand for a king, the author sought to show the ineptness and inadequacy of earthly kings and that Samuel’s prophecy about how the kings would enslave them came true. (1 Sm 8:10-18) This is the thrust of the book of Samuel in illustrating how the first king, Saul, failed badly in ruling the people. Although he had an impressive physique and came from an influential family, right from the start, the author hinted that he would not be the ideal king as the people thought. In the first place, Saul showed himself inept for he could not even find the few donkeys that were lost. They were ultimately found without Saul’s assistance. (1 Sm 9:20, 10:2) He was an incompetent shepherd.
Secondly, he was spiritually unfit to be Israel’s first king. He was spiritually blind in his encounter with Samuel. He could not recognize Samuel as a man of God who was highly respected by all the people and known to “all Israel” (1 Sm 3:20, 4:1). Even Saul’s young slave knew him. And then, it was Saul’s slave that urged him to seek for spiritual help in dealing with his problems but he himself did not feel the need to seek God’s help. Instead of seeking for God’s help to find the sheep, he relied only on his own strength until his men urged him to turn to God for help. When his servants told him there was a holy man who could help, he thought that spiritual gifts could be bought and paid for when no true prophet would accept payment. (cf. Mic 3:11; Acts 8:20)
Saul was a paragon of spiritual blindness. His judgment of people was flawed as would be seen later in his relationships with Jonathan, David and Ahimelech. He misjudged his son as an unworthy son and traitor. He thought David was seeking to usurp his throne. He thought Ahimelech was a co-conspirator to overthrow him. All these misjudgements resulted in tragic consequences for him and those whom he perceived to be his enemies. He could not overcome his insecurity and thirst for power. He sought popularity. He was jealous of David when the women praised more than himself. “And the women sang to one another as they made merry, ‘Saul has killed his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.’ Saul was very angry, for this saying displeased him. He said, ‘They have ascribed to David tens of thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands; what more can he have but the kingdom?’ So Saul eyed David from that day on.” (1 Sm 18:7-9) He was vindictive and was obsessed in destroying David instead of looking after the affairs of the nation.
Such incidents already foreshadowed what kind of king Saul would be. Saul’s kingship would be the means by which God would punish the nation for asking for an earthly king like the rest of the nations. Even as he governed Israel, his policies and conduct were far from serving the welfare of his people. The more he sought to kill David, the more the Lord protected him. Eventually, he was killed with his sons in the battle against the Philistines. If he had fought them with David, they would have been a more potent force but his quarrels and jealousy caused the people to be divided between him and David. (1 Sm 31)
In contrast, we have Jesus, a truly enlightened man and leader who had a heart for all, especially for the weak, the sick, the rejected, the ostracized and sinners. Unlike King Saul, He was not concerned about Himself, His security and popularity. The choice of Matthew to be His apostle was an unpopular choice because he could be a cause of division not just among the Twelve but he would be despised by faithful Jews. Matthew was a tax-collector, hated by the Jews for being a traitor to the people and cheating them by collecting exorbitant taxes. Yet Jesus chose him to be an apostle to his fellow tax-collectors.
Such was the foresight of our Lord. He saw through the eyes of Matthew. He could feel the pain in his heart. He knew that he was looking for something in his life. He knew his loneliness and yet his heart had been stirred to listen to Jesus. But he knew that he was unworthy because he was a sinner. The people would have driven him away if he were to approach nearer to our Lord. He was considered unclean. But Jesus made it clear that He came for the sick, not the healthy. He said, “It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners.” Jesus was not afraid to mix with sinners. He even accepted his invitation to dinner with his fellow tax-collectors. “When Jesus was at dinner in his house, a number of tax collectors and sinners were also sitting at the table with Jesus and his disciples; for there were many of them among his followers.”
What does it mean for us as Christian leaders and members? It means that if we were to be truly reflective of Christ, we must seek to be spiritually mature. More so for those of us who are leaders. Without spiritual maturity, we will end up like Saul, inward-looking, selfish, protective of our position, divisive and ambitious for power and popularity. Humanitarian organizations serve the poor, regardless who the poor are, or those who need assistance in some ways. We must promote harmony, collaboration, self-effacing service, and our concern is only for the betterment of those who need help in one way or another. There must be no competition among church and humanitarian organizations but we all seek to complete each other as one body in Christ, many members but one body and one head.
Secondly, we must be ready to reach out to all, irrespective of how society perceives them, whether they are ex-offenders, criminals, mentally or physically challenged, psychologically unstable or simply sickly and poor. We must be on the ground, eating and drinking with them as Jesus did with the tax-collectors. He did not wait for them to come to Him but He went out of the way to be with them without fear of being misunderstood or ridiculed or even condemned. Jesus’ heart for them was sincere, pure and with good intentions.
Thirdly, spiritually mature leaders and members must be in touch with God and with our Lord. Matthew was converted because he came to know the Lord. Saul was a king who hardly prayed and was superstitious in his relationship with the Lord. He even got involved in divination by seeking the help of the medium at Endor, thus breaking the law. (1 Sm 28:3-19) We must seek to know the Lord intimately. We must dine with Him often and come to share the vision and the heart of Jesus. Only through prayer, worship and contemplation, can we be like Matthew, inspired by Him to give up our security, our wealth, our position, our worldly achievements to give our life for the service of the gospel, proclaiming the Good News to the poor.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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