20240118 DEALING WITH PERCEIVED COMPETITORS
18 January 2024, Thursday, 2nd Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
1 Samuel 18:6-9,19:1-7 © |
Saul's envy and Jonathan's loyal friendship
On their way back, as David was returning after killing the Philistine, the women came out to meet King Saul from all the towns of Israel, singing and dancing to the sound of tambourine and lyre and cries of joy; and as they danced the women sang:
‘Saul has killed his thousands,
and David his tens of thousands.’
Saul was very angry; the incident was not to his liking. ‘They have given David the tens of thousands,’ he said ‘but me only the thousands; he has all but the kingship now.’ And Saul turned a jealous eye on David from that day forward.
Saul told Jonathan his son and all his servants of his intention to kill David. Now Jonathan, Saul’s son, held David in great affection; and so Jonathan warned David; ‘My father Saul is looking for a way to kill you,’ he said ‘so be on your guard tomorrow morning; hide away in some secret place. Then I will go out and keep my father company in the fields where you are hiding, and will talk to my father about you; I will find out what the situation is and let you know.’
So Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father; he said, ‘Let not the king sin against his servant David, for he has not sinned against you, and what he has done has been greatly to your advantage. He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw it yourself and rejoiced; why then sin against innocent blood in killing David without cause?’ Saul was impressed by Jonathan’s words and took an oath, ‘As the Lord lives, I will not kill him.’ Jonathan called David and told him all these things. Then Jonathan brought him to Saul, and David attended on him as before.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 55(56):2-3,9-14 © |
In God I trust: I shall not fear.
Have mercy on me, God, men crush me;
they fight me all day long and oppress me.
My foes crush me all day long,
for many fight proudly against me.
In God I trust: I shall not fear.
You have kept an account of my wanderings;
you have kept a record of my tears;
(are they not written in your book?)
Then my foes will be put to flight
on the day that I call to you.
In God I trust: I shall not fear.
This I know, that God is on my side.
In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not fear;
what can mortal man do to me?
In God I trust: I shall not fear.
I am bound by the vows I have made you.
O God, I will offer you praise
for you have rescued my soul from death,
you kept my feet from stumbling
that I may walk in the presence of God
and enjoy the light of the living.
In God I trust: I shall not fear.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Jn6:63,68 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.2Tim1:10 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death
and he has proclaimed life through the Good News.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Mark 3:7-12 © |
He warned them not to make him known as the Son of God
Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lakeside, and great crowds from Galilee followed him. From Judaea, Jerusalem, Idumaea, Transjordania and the region of Tyre and Sidon, great numbers who had heard of all he was doing came to him. And he asked his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, to keep him from being crushed. For he had cured so many that all who were afflicted in any way were crowding forward to touch him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall down before him and shout, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he warned them strongly not to make him known.
DEALING WITH PERCEIVED COMPETITORS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 Sm 18:6-9; 19:1-7; Ps 56:2-3,9-14; Mk 3:7-12]
Leadership is a service to our people. This is the only reason why anyone should assume leadership. Our motive must be clear, otherwise leadership becomes a means by which we seek power, influence, fame and for some, wealth as well. If these are the motives for seeking leadership, we will use our resources, our talents and our people for ourselves. But sometimes, leaders are not conscious of their real motives in serving people. On their lips, it is for the service of the people, and maybe they really believe that they are doing so, but they never search deep into their hearts for the real reason why they cling to power.
One indicator leaders could use to examine their real motives for clinging on to their position is the way they see their perceived or real competitors. Very often in the political and even in the corporate world, we will use every means, and sometimes unfair means to eliminate our opponents by discrediting them as much as possible. This is because we feel that they are a threat to our security, position and the status quo. Of course, it is difficult to admit it and we would like to think that no one else can lead as well as us. Hence, it is important to be conscious of our deeper feelings when we see our competitors doing well. If we are truly objective, then we should be able to recognize their accomplishments and give sincere credit for their achievements.
In today’s first reading, Saul showed himself to be an insecure leader. David had proven himself to be a brave and good warrior. He was sent for military expeditions by King Saul who was impressed by him. The historian recounted that “David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him; as a result, Saul set him over the army. And all the people, even the servants of Saul, approved.” (1 Sm 18:5) However, the successes of David, which were in Saul’s favour and for the greater good of the country’s security, were soon perceived negatively by Saul because of his insecurity and jealousy. “On their way back, as David was returning after killing the Philistine, the women came out to meet King Saul from all the towns of Israel, singing and dancing to the sound of tambourine and lyre and cries of joy; and as they danced the women sang: ‘Saul has killed his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”
Jealousy deepened his insecurity, causing him to be angry and resentful. Indeed, “Saul was very angry; the incident was not to his liking. ‘They have given David the tens of thousands,’ he said, ‘but me only the thousands; he has all but the kingship now.’ And Saul turned a jealous eye on David from that day forward.” The next day, consumed by his jealousy and anger, with his spear in hand, he threw it at David, hoping to pin him to the wall, but David eluded him twice. (cf 1 Sm 18:10-12) From then on, he plotted to have David eliminated by sending him on military expeditions. But because the Lord was with David, he was always successful and that made Saul even more nervous. For “all Israel and Judah loved David; for it was he who marched out and came in leading them.” (1 Sm 18:16) As if this was not enough, even his daughter, Michal fell in love with David, and his son, Jonathan too loved David more than himself and the kingdom. Again, he tried to kill David, but Jonathan managed to save David by using persuasive reasons to dissuade his father.
As a consequence, Saul lost his vision. As a king, he should be thinking of how to strengthen the country, unite his people, the twelve tribes of Israel, take care of them and help the country to prosper economically, culturally and spiritually, since he was supposedly the Anointed One of God, acting on Yahweh’s behalf to rule His people. Instead, he spent his energy, time and resources seeking how to strip David of his influence, popularity, power and control. He was intent on removing his perceived competitor for fear of losing his throne.
If he had thought positively and for the greater good of the people, he would not have perceived David as a threat. He did not see David as a gift from God to help him rule Israel. In truth, no one was fighting to be the next king. Jonathan, who was next in line to the throne, was more than happy to have David take over the kingdom when his time came. David was young and he still could learn much about leadership from Saul. If Saul were really concerned about the good of the nation, seeing that the Lord was with David, he would have groomed him to be the next King.
A good king who has a heart for his people would know when to step down. “Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul.” (1 Sm 18:12) This is something we all must be conscious of when we are in leadership. Like Saul, the Lord might have passed on our anointing to the next person to take over from us. It takes great humility to recognize that our time as a leader has come to pass, and it is proper that we allow someone who has the ability and capacity to take over from us when the time is opportune. Rather than desperately trying to hold to the reins of power, we must already start planning to exit gracefully by preparing the next person to take over simply because we love our people more than our position.
Similarly, in the gospel yesterday, we read that the Pharisees had an unholy alliance with the Herodians even though they saw them as unfaithful to Israel. But they made use of each other to destroy Jesus, their common enemy. Until then, Jesus was teaching in the Synagogue. He was becoming very popular with the people. However, because in their eyes He was breaking the Sabbath and threatening their position as the authoritative teachers and challenging their meticulous and orthodox way of observing the Mosaic Law, they thought it would be best for Him to be removed. Jesus became their competitor to their leadership of the Jewish community. They thought that by ejecting Him from the Synagogue, they could contain the influence Jesus.
On the contrary, the gospel tells us that from that day on, when Jesus knew that they were plotting to kill Him, “Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lakeside, and great crowds from Galilee followed him.” The time had not yet arrived for Him to die, as His mission of proclaiming the gospel was not yet accomplished. Jesus had yet to proclaim the message of the Kingdom of God widely to His people, and form His apostles and disciples to continue that mission beyond Him. He moved out from the synagogue to the public arena, the seaside, the hill side, the desert and the homes of people. “He asked his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, to keep him from being crushed.”
“From Judaea, Jerusalem, Idumaea, Transjordania and the region of Tyre and Sidon, great numbers who had heard of all he was doing came to him.” Jesus withdrew from the religious institution to the open areas where even those who could not be admitted to the synagogues, such as sinners, tax-collectors, prostitutes and gentiles – anyone who had ears – could come to listen to Him. Indeed, because of the restrictions placed on Him, Jesus could now reach out to a larger audience and teach, unrestrained. He could now heal freely outside the synagogue. “For he has cured so many that all who were afflicted in any way were crowding forward to touch him. And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw him, would fall down before him and shout, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he warned them strongly not to make him known.”
What can we learn from today’s lesson, if not the fact that as leaders we are all called to genuine service of our people. It is not about ourselves. Selfish leaders seek to protect their own interests. Genuine leaders look for every opportunity to help and to serve. We are not constrained by those who oppose us, or by our limitations. Where we can serve best, we should be there. Good and true leaders work within their limitations and seek to circumvent them whenever possible, or turn them into opportunities for greater growth. We do not expect people to come to us. We should go to them. We should remove all barriers that prevent people from coming to us. A leader walks with his people.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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