20220730 SELF-SERVING LEADERSHIP
30 July, 2022, Saturday, 17th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
Jeremiah 26:11-16,24 © |
'This man has spoken to us in the name of the Lord'
The priests and prophets addressed the officials and all the people, ‘This man deserves to die, since he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears.’
Jeremiah, however, replied to the people as follows:
‘The Lord himself sent me to say all the things you have heard against this Temple and this city. So now amend your behaviour and actions, listen to the voice of the Lord your God: if you do, he will relent and not bring down on you the disaster he has pronounced against you. For myself, I am as you see in your hands. Do whatever you please or think right with me. But be sure of this, that if you put me to death, you will be bringing innocent blood on yourselves, on this city and on its citizens, since the Lord has truly sent me to you to say all these words in your hearing.’
The officials and all the people then said to the priests and prophets, ‘This man does not deserve to die: he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.’
Jeremiah had a protector in Ahikam son of Shaphan, so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 68(69):15-16,30-31,33-34 © |
In your great love, answer me, O God.
Rescue me from sinking in the mud;
save me from my foes.
Save me from the waters of the deep
lest the waves overwhelm me.
Do not let the deep engulf me
nor death close its mouth on me.
In your great love, answer me, O God.
As for me in my poverty and pain
let your help, O God, lift me up.
I will praise God’s name with a song;
I will glorify him with thanksgiving.
In your great love, answer me, O God.
The poor when they see it will be glad
and God-seeking hearts will revive;
for the Lord listens to the needy
and does not spurn his servants in their chains.
In your great love, answer me, O God.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Lk8:15 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are those who,
with a noble and generous heart,
take the word of God to themselves
and yield a harvest through their perseverance.
Alleluia!
Or: | Mt5:10 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Happy those who are persecuted
in the cause of right,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 14:1-12 © |
The beheading of John the Baptist
Herod the tetrarch heard about the reputation of Jesus, and said to his court, ‘This is John the Baptist himself; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.’
Now it was Herod who had arrested John, chained him up and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. For John had told him, ‘It is against the Law for you to have her.’ He had wanted to kill him but was afraid of the people, who regarded John as a prophet. Then, during the celebrations for Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and so delighted Herod that he promised on oath to give her anything she asked. Prompted by her mother she said, ‘Give me John the Baptist’s head, here, on a dish.’ The king was distressed but, thinking of the oaths he had sworn and of his guests, he ordered it to be given her, and sent and had John beheaded in the prison. The head was brought in on a dish and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. John’s disciples came and took the body and buried it; then they went off to tell Jesus.
SELF-SERVING LEADERSHIP
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [JER 26:11-16,24; MT 14:1-12]
It is never easy to be a true prophet of God. We will always face opposition, even in ministry, because of jealousy and selfishness. We are certain to be persecuted and hated. The people who wanted to put Jeremiah to death were not even the rulers and the people whom Jeremiah condemned, but the priests and false prophets who opposed the truth. This is true for us all. The people who oppose us often come from our own ranks and organization. It is not the people that oppose us but those whose interests are compromised. Even the Holy Father has his critics within the Curia and among Catholics who are not happy with his attempts to change the structure of the Church.
This happens mainly due to four reasons: jealousy and insecurity; pride and selfish interests. King Herod was afraid of John the Baptist because he had become too popular. He was afraid that the people might follow John instead. He could start a revolution and Herod could lose his power and authority. So he had John arrested and put in prison. Yet he knew that he was a man of God. And because of the people, he did not dare to kill him. He was a thorn in his flesh. Indeed, all of us get jealous easily when others are perceived to be better than us. More so if you are a leader and you know that they are better than you. Your position becomes threatened.
For Herodias, her ego was also affected. John the Baptist had exposed her sin of adultery thus making her lose face. She became vindictive. She wanted that thorn to be removed so that she could continue to live in grace and not in disgrace. She wanted to live in dignity but in truth she was deceiving herself. This is a delusion. This is true for us all. We do not like people to tell us of our sins. We do not like to be reminded of our imperfections. That is why some people do not want to go for confession. Their pride and fear of shame prevent them. We do not mind criticizing ourselves, but we take offence when others criticize us. Herod too was a slave to his pride when he did not retract the promise he made to Herodias’ daughter. A promise to do evil is invalid. Yet, to show his power, he saw through this evil deed.
For the prophets and priests, they too had vested interests. They would lose their position and privileges if the people start to believe in Jeremiah. We all want security in life. We want to live comfortable lives and be freed from those who control us. Some of us are not willing to step down from office because we are used to the privileges that come with the office. We are afraid that we cannot live without them. So we are not willing to give up our power. Even in the Church, we cling on to power. I always wonder why some people are not willing to step down from office when there are younger and better people who can do a more effective job. My constant conviction is that the best man or woman should do the job. But in truth, we all cling on to power, not for service but for ourselves. Of course, in the name of service, we do not give up our power. The day we are no longer in office, we will cease to enjoy special treatment, including the bishop! But service is not about us!
Jealousy and pride, insecurity and self-interests will lead to more evil, including vindictiveness and killing. That was what happened to the prophets, priests and Herodias and Herod. They would do anything to get rid of the irritant even when they knew he was speaking the truth. They would even step so low as to use innocent people to condemn the prophet. They sought to use the rulers and the people to put Jeremiah to death. Herodias made use of her innocent daughter to display herself so that she could ask her to request for the head of John the Baptist. Politicians and weak governments would do everything to eliminate their opponents, regardless how good and talented they may be for the country.
What about us? Do we want to follow the same path? Do we use innocent people, especially the young to fulfill our ambitions and selfish needs? Do we seek death and murder at least in our minds? If we do, then we will never find peace, like Herod. He lived in guilt and fear for the rest of his life for he knew that he had done wrong. He could not reconcile with his sin of adultery and murder. He had hallucinations of John the Baptist appearing. Guilt will kill us in the end. This explains why sins have a punishment of their own. When there is guilt, there can be no peace.
The truth is that our conscience cannot be silenced. Don’t pretend or try to suppress the truth. Even the uneducated common people know what is right and wrong. That is why the collective conscience of the people rejected the priests and prophets’ demand to execute Jeremiah. The sensus fidei must be trusted, especially when authorities are corrupt and blind. As authorities, we must be alert to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and be receptive to the ground as well.
We are called to be like John the Baptist and Jeremiah. Let our lives be our defense if our words fail us. We need to be true to ourselves and do the right thing, not the popular thing. We must have the courage even to speak the truth against the powerful people when they are wrong!
But speak the truth with charity. Truth must be spoken in love and with love. This is the litmus test of truth. If we speak out of anger and resentment, most likely there is no truth in it but self-interest and revenge. We speak only because there is no self-gain but purely out of love and for the love and good of others. Jeremiah defended himself as follows, “The Lord himself sent me to say all the things you have heard against this Temple and this city. So now amend your behaviour and actions, listen to the voice of the Lord your God: if you do, he will relent and not bring down on you the disaster he has pronounced against you.”
However, before you can claim to speak the truth and not do so as an excuse to ventilate your own hang ups, make sure you have prayed and listened clearly to the Word of God. This was what Jeremiah and John the Baptist did. If we have not listened to His word, we only have the voice without the content. So to find the courage to proclaim the truth, we must first listen. Having heard the word of God for ourselves, we can then proclaim the truth with confidence and without fear. Jeremiah could surrender his fate to God. “For myself, I am as you see in your hands. Do whatever you please or think right with me. But be sure of this, that if you put me to death, you will be bringing innocent blood on yourselves, on this city and on its citizens, since the Lord has truly sent me to you to say all these words in your hearing.”
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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