20221028 ALIGNMENT AS THE KEY TO EFFECTIVENESS IN MISSION
28 October, 2022, Friday, Ss Simon and Jude, Apostles
First reading |
Ephesians 2:19-22 © |
In Christ you are no longer aliens, but citizens like us
You are no longer aliens or foreign visitors: you are citizens like all the saints, and part of God’s household. You are part of a building that has the apostles and prophets for its foundations, and Christ Jesus himself for its main cornerstone. As every structure is aligned on him, all grow into one holy temple in the Lord; and you too, in him, are being built into a house where God lives, in the Spirit.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 18(19):2-5 © |
Their word goes forth through all the earth.
The heavens proclaim the glory of God,
and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.
Day unto day takes up the story
and night unto night makes known the message.
Their word goes forth through all the earth.
No speech, no word, no voice is heard
yet their span extends through all the earth,
their words to the utmost bounds of the world.
Their word goes forth through all the earth.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Te Deum |
Alleluia, alleluia!
We praise you, O God,
we acknowledge you to be the Lord.
The glorious company of the apostles praise you, O Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 6:12-19 © |
Jesus chooses his twelve apostles
Jesus went out into the hills to pray; and he spent the whole night in prayer to God. When day came he summoned his disciples and picked out twelve of them; he called them ‘apostles’: Simon whom he called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon called the Zealot, Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot who became a traitor.
He then came down with them and stopped at a piece of level ground where there was a large gathering of his disciples with a great crowd of people from all parts of Judaea and from Jerusalem and from the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon who had come to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. People tormented by unclean spirits were also cured, and everyone in the crowd was trying to touch him because power came out of him that cured them all.
ALIGNMENT AS THE KEY TO EFFECTIVENESS IN MISSION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [EPHESIANS 2:19-22; LUKE 6:12-19]
In the gospel, we read of the demands made on Jesus on a typical day in His life. Upon coming down from the mountain, “there was a large gathering of his disciples with a great crowd of people from all parts of Judaea and from Jerusalem and from the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon who had come to hear him and to be cured of their diseases.” Jesus must have felt the pressure of attending to the needs of so many people who wanted to hear Him preach and many more sought to be cured of their illnesses or be delivered from the oppression of the evil spirits.
Jesus knew that it was not humanly possible to attend to the needs and requests of everyone. This certainly was the context of the appointment of the twelve apostles and the sending out of the 72 disciples. Jesus was realistic enough not to take everything upon Himself. A good leader must learn to delegate and empower. This was what Jesus did. He began the process of choosing the twelve apostles as His personal ambassadors.
The greatest challenge of a leader is to appoint the right collaborators or leaders to work with him. Many leaders delegate and empower those under their charge, but unfortunately, they never discerned properly who should be appointed as leaders. More often than not people are appointed based on friendship, talents, capability, status and influence. They are not chosen after prayerful consultation and discernment. The failure to choose the right leaders and collaborators will cause us more problems in future. They might not be able to work together. They can be trouble-makers, individualistic, arrogant and dictatorial or worse still, dishonest, scandalous and manipulative.
Jesus knew the potential advantages and risks He was taking when He appointed the Twelve. This explains why He spent the whole night in the hills to pray till day break. We can be sure that it was not easy for Jesus to decide on who to bring into His team of Twelve as there were many to choose from. This is a dilemma for every leader. Choosing the right leaders and the right team is critical for success. If the wrong people are chosen, the team could be divided or the individuals end up building their own kingdom without regard for the leader and the team’s overall vision and strategy. Many leaders fail because they could not find the right team to support them in fulfilling the vision of the organization. They end up spending all their energy trying to repair damages caused by their leaders, or trying to unite the team members who are always squabbling among themselves.
Ironically, after spending the whole night in prayer, Jesus chose a motley group of apostles who were from different backgrounds, education, occupations, extreme temperaments and even political beliefs. Most were fishermen, but there was also a tax-collector, a revolutionary and a member of a political party whose goal was to overthrow the Roman Empire. The characters were also very different. Yet Jesus was not afraid of such diversity in His team. Obviously, Jesus knew that having people of different backgrounds, skills, temperaments and inclinations was helpful to Him in reaching out to the masses.
The key to success in Jesus’ mission did not just lie in appointing a right mix of leaders, but in the ability to manage them and to help them to work as a team. We know the tension among the disciples. James and John were competing for power and position. Judas most likely was greedy and possibly a thief. They would have clashed among themselves because of different political views with respect to the way they should deal with the Romans.
The secret to Jesus’ success was alignment. He was able to align almost all of the apostles with His vision and mission. Jesus therefore was the source of that unity among the apostles. For this reason, St Paul says, “You are part of a building that has the apostles and prophets for its foundations, and Christ Jesus himself for its main cornerstone. As every structure is aligned on him, all grow into one holy temple in the Lord; and you too, in him, are being built into a house where God lives, in the Spirit.”
How, then, can we align our leaders and collaborators to work as a team? Firstly, we need to ground them in the right foundation, as St Paul says. Everyone must be grounded in the Lord and in the tradition of the Church, symbolized by the apostles and the prophets. If our leaders are not given the right foundation, the different or worldly values would destroy the mission of the Church. So the important task of a leader is always to remind his members of the gospel as taught by our Lord and His successors. The leader after all is the keeper of the vision of the organization. St Peter therefore was given the key, which was not just a symbol of authority but he and his successors were to keep the vision of our Lord for His Church. It is the constant task of the leader to remind his team members of their common vision. In the case of the Church, it is the gospel inspired vision and the mission of the universal and local Church. The group is as strong as its foundation. If the team is well grounded in its foundation, especially in Christ and the gospel, then nothing can destroy the work of the organization.
Secondly, leaders must always be humble and conscious of the fact that they are disciples. They must be aligned with Christ through ongoing discipleship. Jesus appointed the apostles from among the disciples. In selecting them, they did not remain autonomous. On the contrary, Jesus chose the apostles from among the disciples so that He could form them more personally, share with them His plans, concerns and help them to mature as leaders. Hence, leaders are always disciples of our Lord. When a leader thinks that he knows everything, he will no longer be able to lead effectively. There is only one leader and one shepherd, that is, Christ. So leaders must never act and behave as if they have all the answers. But they are and will always be learners. Of course, for Christian leaders, they must always be concerned about whether they are connected with Christ, know His mind and heart more and more each day so that in all they do, they are seeking to fulfil His vision and mission, not theirs.
Thirdly, in order to be aligned, leaders must be community- minded. They must be team players. A leader must always remember that he is building the household of God. He is like the head of a family. In the Church, all the more, we are all children of God. We need to build ourselves into a family of God. That is why leaders must always work in union with each other and with those under their charge.
For this reason, no effort must be spared in strengthening the bonds of those working together with us. This is an ongoing process. Community bonding cannot be taken for granted and will not happen if we do not keep reminding ourselves of the need to come together to pray, share, and to bond. It would be too naïve to think that just because we are Catholics, we are united. The unity of the members of a community does not just happen by itself. Nay, it is the regular reminders and efforts to come together that will eventually strengthen the community. Relationships are always fragile. We are sensitive people. A misunderstanding, a problem, an insensitive remark, a harsh word could cause a quarrel, friction and resentment. This is true in family life as well. We know how difficult it is to strengthen the unity of our small family, what more an office or an organization. Hence, we need to make efforts. Community meetings, community meals, outings, and prayers are necessary to keep the community united in love. We need to hold “organized” joys and compulsory gatherings so that we give people a chance to meet and share. Otherwise, they become more distant from each other and this will result in conflicts and misunderstandings. Therefore, we must not let up in building community life.
Work and diligence is not enough to make our organization successful. When there is no love, trust, and genuine care and concern for each other, this will simply become a work place, not the household of God. Then we will be like those in the corporate world, ambitious, hardworking, competitive and fighting with each other for power and position. If that were the case, it will rob us of our joy of working. But if the community bond is strong, there will be greater peace of mind and happiness; and work will be fruitful.
Finally, the most important way of alignment is prayer. Jesus spent the whole night in prayer to His Father, conversing with Him about His plans and asking for the spirit of discernment. Without prayer, leaders lack focus and end up doing their own will. They do not acquire the Spirit of Jesus to lead others. We are told that when Jesus came down from the hill, many came to find Him. “People tormented by unclean spirits were also cured, and everyone in the crowd was trying to touch him because power came out of him that cured them all.” Jesus must have been so filled with the love and compassion of His Father and His conviction of His Father’s mercy that He exuded the presence of God’s mercy and love. As leaders who are called to be ambassadors of Christ, how can we lead others unless we have first aligned ourselves with the Lord? That is why Church workers must pray for each other and with each other every day so that we can work in unison for the greater glory of God. In this way, we can truly sing, “The heavens proclaim the glory of God, and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands. Day unto day takes up the story and night unto night makes known the message. No speech, no word, no voice is heard yet their span extends through all the earth, their words to the utmost bounds of the world.”
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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