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Homily for Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

READ: (Exo 19: 2-6; Rom 5: 6-11; Matt 9: 36-10:8)

REFLECT: Christian Leadership – listens to God’s voice, brings reconciliation and promotes compassion…

Today we are in the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary time. I remember an old quote read long before, “Leadership is the capacity to translate the vision into reality.” Yes, leadership requires capacity but not merely intelligence but prudence, not merely power but passion for empowerment, not merely recognition and reward but compassion and commitment. That’s what someone has very beautifully said, “Christian leadership is a dynamic relational process in which people, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, partner to achieve a common goal - it is serving others by leading and leading others by serving.” So as leaders in the name of God in families, societies and Catholic Church, we are called to become servants of God’s service at our disposal by the grace of God, through Jesus in the Holy Spirit. Therefore, based on the liturgy of the word today I would like to share with you three points of reflection as how our role of Christian leadership enhance our living with one another and our love for God, His mission.

1.     Christian leadership demands listening to God’s voice:

A good leader does not make empty promises by long speeches and litanies rather he or she listens to people and addresses their needs accordingly, fulfills the projects properly by obtaining success. That’s something similar we find in the first reading from the book of Exodus, where Moses is called by God and he listens to God to execute the plan as God wants of him to do. God himself makes known to Moses how he freed Israelites for the slavery of Egyptians and cared for them, bore them on eagles’ wings. We all know what makes the eagles to sore high is their strong wing, similarly God has carried the people of Israel from the slavery of Egyptians to Promised Land.

The words “you yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt” describes the entire story of Pharaoh and the Egyptians through the plagues. “I carried you on eagles’ wings” to describe the exodus itself, metaphorically describing the flight from Egypt as a soaring flight carried by an eagle. The words “and brought you to myself” express not merely the arrival at Sinai but the entering into covenant relationship with the only true God. Yes, this is the love of God expressed to the people of Israel. Therefore, God tells Moses that if Israel wishes to continue to be treasured people of God, they need but obey God’s voice and keep his covenant.

Yes, if we want to be leaders after the heart of God or treasured people of God in the world or church or family one must listen to God’s voice and make the people of God to listen to the voice of God and follow God’s commandment. Perhaps today what could solve many unnecessary miscommunications, misconception is by listening to the other patiently, because one gets clarity of what one goes through whether it is a pain or joy and one gets an opportunity express oneself. That’s what we see in the first reading, where Moses listens to God while God speaks. There is no doubt that when we attempt to discern God’s voice, there will always be a combat with other voices of the world to dullen our sense of hearing God’s voice or deviate the focus of our listening to God but we need to completely rely and focus in the voice of God.  

Further, in the Papal Message for the 56th World Day of Social Communications on 29th May 2022, titled “Listening with the ear of the heart,” Pope Francis says that listening is “the first indispensable ingredient of dialogue and good communication”, and this requires a “dialogical relationship between God and humanity”. Yes, listening becomes more important to get to know the lists of incidents and events that people go through in life. Listening as well gives the other the confidence to share more freely and fully. In our day-to-day living, let us create a scope and space to listen to God’s voice and draw strength to listen to others enabling others as God’s children to come close to God.

2.     Christian leadership brings reconciliation:

Although God in the past used various means of reconciliation of people to him by commandments and covenant, patriarchs and prophets, judges and kings, but in the long run he reconciled us with himself through his only Son Jesus. Jesus himself becomes the bridge that connects each one of us to become children of God by the death he died. That’s what we hear in the second reading from the letter to the Romans the beauty of God’s reconciliation with us. Although hardly for a righteous person one would dare to die, but because of God’s great love and mercy, he reconciled with us through Jesus’ death, while we were still sinners. Yes, it is the beauty and greatness of God’s reconciliation with us. A leader out of love for his or her subjects does not look at the greatness and littleness of people rather the intensity and sincerity of love plays a significant role. That’s what God has manifested to us in and through Jesus Christ. God’s love was so intense and true that he dared not in giving up his only Son Jesus for our redemption and reconciliation.

Today reconciliation is the need of the hour in our families, societies, institutes and world due to various fragments. In many ways we have failed to build the bridge of relationship with one another. It could be our indifference, ego, hatred, jealousy or lack of sensitivity and sensibility for one another. It is our time to restore and reconcile. It need not be and God does not expect us as God manifested his love by dying but by understanding one another, giving a space and scope for openness and above all living in genuine love for one another.

Pope Francis very beautifully enhances us to the spiritual fervor saying “If we want to be reconciled with one another and with ourselves, to be reconciled with the past, with wrongs endured and memories wounded, with traumatic experiences that no human consolation can ever heal, our eyes must be lifted to the crucified Jesus; peace must be attained at the altar of his cross. Moreover, reconciliation is not merely the result of our own efforts; it is a gift that flows from the crucified Lord, a peace that radiates from the heart of Jesus, a grace that must be sought.” Yes, just as Jesus was lifted up on the cross for our reconciliation with God, we too need lift our eyes to the Lord in constant prayer, that prompts us God’s heavenly blessings and graces. I am sure, when we lift our eyes to God, God would look down on us with pity and grant us reconciliation and redemption from all that chains us from moving closer to God.

3.     Christian leadership promotes compassion:

We might be aware of the concept Compassionate leadership. It is a leadership in compassion that permeates and promotes compassion with a single-minded purpose of having a balanced relationship with one another. That’s why it is said that compassionate leadership focuses  on relationships through careful listening to, understanding, empathizing with and supporting other people, enabling those we lead to feel valued, respected and cared for, so they can reach their potential and do their best work. Yes, Jesus was indeed a compassionate leader, who focused on relationships with God the Father and us. His entire ministry and mission revolved around compassion and mercy.

That’s what we have in the Gospel reading that manifests the compassion of Jesus. The feelings expressed by Jesus are a proof for it.  The expression of Jesus after seeing the crowds, “They were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd,” “the laborers are few but the harvest is plentiful.” These two phrased point out the Jesus observed in the people what they were lacking. What they lacked was most important i.e., leaders and their leadership role. As a response to his feeling and observation, Jesus gives authority to the twelve, commissions them with a mission of proclaiming the nearness of God’s kingdom.

Yes, today the role of Christian leaders and their leadership is very significant to take people near God and lead people in the name of God. Today’s understanding of leaders and leadership at times surprising, perhaps misleading. We appoint leaders and think of leadership based on power, privilege, prominence, preference, favor and group-based on different levels. But Jesus the leader par excellence teaches us and reminds us that more than all the exterior quality, which plays significant role in the exercise of leadership is compassion for people and reaching out to people the mission is more significant.

Very meaningfully Pope Francis shares the importance of being compassionate in our Christian living saying, “Compassion allows you to see reality; compassion is like the lens of the heart: it allows us to take in and   understand the true dimensions. In the Gospels, Jesus is often moved by compassion. And compassion is also the language of God.” Yes, compassion for humanity as leaders and faithful followers of Jesus would bring about a change in the lives of many, bringing them closer to God and making them understand how much God loves. It is also call to reflect an resemble the God who we worship and confess with faith as a compassionate saviour. So let our lives aim at being compassionate to one another and bring down the mercies of God to open the door of paradise on earth.

RESPOND:

Do we listen to God’s voice and listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in our lives?

Do we bring reconciliation or division in relationship with family, society and the Church?

Do we permeate and promote the compassion of God in all that we do?

Let our Christian leadership and discipleship aim at listening to God’s voice, reconcile each other in good relationships and reflect the compassionate face of God to all. Amen.

God bless us all! Live Jesus!

Fr. Ramesh George MSFS

rameshvkmsfs@gmail.com

9500930968