01-20-2016, 06:20 PM
MANAGING OPPOSITION
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1SM 17:32-33. 37. 40-51; PS 143:1-2, 9-10; MK 3:1-6
We all have our critics, opponents, slanderers, detractors and enemies in life. No one is exempted, especially when you are a leader. Even the Holy Father has many critics. He has many fans and supporters, but there are also many people, including conservative and traditional Catholics, who are opposed to his teachings and the direction he is taking for the Church. As Archbishop, I too have my fair share of critics, from within and from without. Dealing with those who oppose us can be frustrating and energy sapping. That is why in politics and in business there is much scheming, lobbying, manipulating and strategizing how to overcome one’s competitors and enemies. In fact, such politicking drains our energy and leave with us little time to do our work and get on with the tasks we are supposed to accomplish. Such people are often very destructive, divisive and vindictive. Yet, these people need to be managed carefully, because they destroy or hinder us from accomplishing what we are trying to build. So how should we deal with the resistance of our cynics, disparagers, sceptics and oppositions?
Firstly, we must be aware of our human emotions and immediate reactions. In the gospel, Jesus, even whilst trying to do good by healing and exorcising, was often confronted by the hostile religious leaders who sought to get rid of Him, or were ever ready to find fault with Him. We read in the gospel, that “they were watching him to see if he would cure him on the Sabbath day, hoping for something to use against him” and they would “plot with the Herodians against him, discussing how to destroy him.” In the face of opposition, Jesus was “grieved to find them so obstinate” and “he looked angrily round at them.” We can imagine the frustration of Jesus, the anger at their inflexibility, rigidity and insensitivity to the sufferings of others. For Jesus, it was so clear that someone was suffering and therefore needed to be healed as soon as possible. The Jewish leaders instead were squabbling over laws and traditions.
Secondly, we must be aware of where our anger is coming from. It is not wrong to get angry, but as St Paul said, we must not sin. He wrote, “Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” (Eph 4:26f) So the anger Jesus felt for His enemies was that of a holy anger, because it was not directed at their persons per se, but at their callous attitude towards the man who was suffering; their stubbornness at not letting go; and their pride in wanting to maintain their theological position. Yet, it must be noted that the evangelist recorded that Jesus was not only angry but He was grieved, that is to say, He felt sad for His enemies, and sadder still that they were preventing the performance of good works on the Sabbath, and that their cold-heartedness caused those who were in distress to prolong their pain. Being aware of the cause of our anger is important; as St Paul says, otherwise that anger will permit the devil to have access into our faculties.
In the case of the Jewish leaders, their anger originated not from compassion but from pride, envy, insecurity and anger. They were too proud to admit that Jesus was right in breaking the Sabbath Law for the greater good of the people. Indeed, their total silence to the Jesus’ question of whether it was “against the law on the Sabbath day to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or to kill?” shows that they knew the truth but were not willing to admit it. They could not retort because the truth prevails. Because they felt threatened by Jesus, and humiliated by Him because their falsehood was exposed, they became reactive, resentful, angry and vindictive. This, too, was the same mistake of the Philistine warrior. He was too full of himself, presumptuous, so proud of his strength, physique and military might that he was unprepared to meet David when he was confronted in an unconventional battle.
Jesus had the right disposition towards His enemies, and that accounted for His firmness and clarity of mind. He did not respond to the defamations and scheming tactics of His opponents. His only concern was the suffering of the man with the shriveled hand. Jesus could identify with the man in his suffering, shame and limitations. We can be sure that if we were the man, we would have been rather ashamed of the state of our withered hand, which no doubt would have attracted unwelcome attention from others. So the reaction of Jesus was prompt and spontaneous. But Jesus was equally compassionate with those who opposed Him, because He knew that they were ignorant, closed in their minds and hardened in their hearts to see the truth. The anger of Jesus was out of compassion; not out of spite. Because His conscience was clear that He was doing the right thing, He was fearless in dismissing the objections of His opponents.
So, too, was David. His motive was clear. He took up the challenge, not for his own glory and honour but for his country, king and people. All he wanted to do was to be loyal to his King, to serve him and his people. But David knew his limitations. He had nothing to boast about himself. As King Saul said to him when he volunteered to fight against the Philistine, “You cannot go and fight the Philistine; you are only a boy and he has been a warrior from his youth.” Even the Philistine, upon seeing him, was “filled… with scorn, because David was only a youth, a boy of fresh complexion and pleasant bearing.” Insulted that he was fighting a boy, he remarked, “Am I a dog for you to come against me with sticks? Come over here and I will give your flesh to birds of the air and beasts of the field.”
However, David knew that his strength and victory would not come from himself but from the power of God. He was humble enough to acknowledge and trust in the power of God to deliver him from the Philistine, as he said to King Saul, “The Lord who rescued me from the claws of lion and bear, will rescue me from the power of this Philistine.” David said the same thing to the Philistine at the battle ground. “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel that you have dared to insult. Today the Lord will deliver you into my hand and I shall kill you; I will cut off your head, and this very day I will give your dead body and the bodies of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord gives the victory, for he is lord of the battle and he will deliver you into our power.” Such was the faith of David in the power of the Lord. He did not pride himself for being so resourceful and creative in strategizing his fight with the Philistine. He recognized that victory belonged to the Lord, and he attributed everything to the power and mercy of God.
Consequently, in the face of our enemies, we, too, need to search our motives in defending what we are doing. We must be clear that whatever we do, we do so for the glory of God, the greater good of our people whom we serve and not for ourselves, our glory or for our self-interests. The truth is that the real enemy is never from without but from within. We are our worst enemies. We will destroy ourselves, like the Jewish leaders, if our objections are self-centered and revengeful. In trying to prevent others from living and have life, we will first and foremost destroy our own lives.
So, like Jesus and David, our motives must be truly for the service of God and our fellowmen. There must be no self-interests to gain, no ambition or achievements for ourselves. When we are totally altruistic, we have nothing to lose. Only then, can we act with confidence and dignity before our enemies. Most of all, like David, we do everything for the glory of God, to make known His power and mercy. Like David, we must give all glory to God. We are only humble servants of God. Without Him and His grace and mercy, we are only weaklings. With the psalmist we say, “He is my love, my fortress; my savior, my shield.”!
SCRIPTURE READINGS: 1SM 17:32-33. 37. 40-51; PS 143:1-2, 9-10; MK 3:1-6
We all have our critics, opponents, slanderers, detractors and enemies in life. No one is exempted, especially when you are a leader. Even the Holy Father has many critics. He has many fans and supporters, but there are also many people, including conservative and traditional Catholics, who are opposed to his teachings and the direction he is taking for the Church. As Archbishop, I too have my fair share of critics, from within and from without. Dealing with those who oppose us can be frustrating and energy sapping. That is why in politics and in business there is much scheming, lobbying, manipulating and strategizing how to overcome one’s competitors and enemies. In fact, such politicking drains our energy and leave with us little time to do our work and get on with the tasks we are supposed to accomplish. Such people are often very destructive, divisive and vindictive. Yet, these people need to be managed carefully, because they destroy or hinder us from accomplishing what we are trying to build. So how should we deal with the resistance of our cynics, disparagers, sceptics and oppositions?
Firstly, we must be aware of our human emotions and immediate reactions. In the gospel, Jesus, even whilst trying to do good by healing and exorcising, was often confronted by the hostile religious leaders who sought to get rid of Him, or were ever ready to find fault with Him. We read in the gospel, that “they were watching him to see if he would cure him on the Sabbath day, hoping for something to use against him” and they would “plot with the Herodians against him, discussing how to destroy him.” In the face of opposition, Jesus was “grieved to find them so obstinate” and “he looked angrily round at them.” We can imagine the frustration of Jesus, the anger at their inflexibility, rigidity and insensitivity to the sufferings of others. For Jesus, it was so clear that someone was suffering and therefore needed to be healed as soon as possible. The Jewish leaders instead were squabbling over laws and traditions.
Secondly, we must be aware of where our anger is coming from. It is not wrong to get angry, but as St Paul said, we must not sin. He wrote, “Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” (Eph 4:26f) So the anger Jesus felt for His enemies was that of a holy anger, because it was not directed at their persons per se, but at their callous attitude towards the man who was suffering; their stubbornness at not letting go; and their pride in wanting to maintain their theological position. Yet, it must be noted that the evangelist recorded that Jesus was not only angry but He was grieved, that is to say, He felt sad for His enemies, and sadder still that they were preventing the performance of good works on the Sabbath, and that their cold-heartedness caused those who were in distress to prolong their pain. Being aware of the cause of our anger is important; as St Paul says, otherwise that anger will permit the devil to have access into our faculties.
In the case of the Jewish leaders, their anger originated not from compassion but from pride, envy, insecurity and anger. They were too proud to admit that Jesus was right in breaking the Sabbath Law for the greater good of the people. Indeed, their total silence to the Jesus’ question of whether it was “against the law on the Sabbath day to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or to kill?” shows that they knew the truth but were not willing to admit it. They could not retort because the truth prevails. Because they felt threatened by Jesus, and humiliated by Him because their falsehood was exposed, they became reactive, resentful, angry and vindictive. This, too, was the same mistake of the Philistine warrior. He was too full of himself, presumptuous, so proud of his strength, physique and military might that he was unprepared to meet David when he was confronted in an unconventional battle.
Jesus had the right disposition towards His enemies, and that accounted for His firmness and clarity of mind. He did not respond to the defamations and scheming tactics of His opponents. His only concern was the suffering of the man with the shriveled hand. Jesus could identify with the man in his suffering, shame and limitations. We can be sure that if we were the man, we would have been rather ashamed of the state of our withered hand, which no doubt would have attracted unwelcome attention from others. So the reaction of Jesus was prompt and spontaneous. But Jesus was equally compassionate with those who opposed Him, because He knew that they were ignorant, closed in their minds and hardened in their hearts to see the truth. The anger of Jesus was out of compassion; not out of spite. Because His conscience was clear that He was doing the right thing, He was fearless in dismissing the objections of His opponents.
So, too, was David. His motive was clear. He took up the challenge, not for his own glory and honour but for his country, king and people. All he wanted to do was to be loyal to his King, to serve him and his people. But David knew his limitations. He had nothing to boast about himself. As King Saul said to him when he volunteered to fight against the Philistine, “You cannot go and fight the Philistine; you are only a boy and he has been a warrior from his youth.” Even the Philistine, upon seeing him, was “filled… with scorn, because David was only a youth, a boy of fresh complexion and pleasant bearing.” Insulted that he was fighting a boy, he remarked, “Am I a dog for you to come against me with sticks? Come over here and I will give your flesh to birds of the air and beasts of the field.”
However, David knew that his strength and victory would not come from himself but from the power of God. He was humble enough to acknowledge and trust in the power of God to deliver him from the Philistine, as he said to King Saul, “The Lord who rescued me from the claws of lion and bear, will rescue me from the power of this Philistine.” David said the same thing to the Philistine at the battle ground. “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel that you have dared to insult. Today the Lord will deliver you into my hand and I shall kill you; I will cut off your head, and this very day I will give your dead body and the bodies of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord gives the victory, for he is lord of the battle and he will deliver you into our power.” Such was the faith of David in the power of the Lord. He did not pride himself for being so resourceful and creative in strategizing his fight with the Philistine. He recognized that victory belonged to the Lord, and he attributed everything to the power and mercy of God.
Consequently, in the face of our enemies, we, too, need to search our motives in defending what we are doing. We must be clear that whatever we do, we do so for the glory of God, the greater good of our people whom we serve and not for ourselves, our glory or for our self-interests. The truth is that the real enemy is never from without but from within. We are our worst enemies. We will destroy ourselves, like the Jewish leaders, if our objections are self-centered and revengeful. In trying to prevent others from living and have life, we will first and foremost destroy our own lives.
So, like Jesus and David, our motives must be truly for the service of God and our fellowmen. There must be no self-interests to gain, no ambition or achievements for ourselves. When we are totally altruistic, we have nothing to lose. Only then, can we act with confidence and dignity before our enemies. Most of all, like David, we do everything for the glory of God, to make known His power and mercy. Like David, we must give all glory to God. We are only humble servants of God. Without Him and His grace and mercy, we are only weaklings. With the psalmist we say, “He is my love, my fortress; my savior, my shield.”!