Bible
Study: Ezekiel 34, 1 to 11 and Matthew 20, 1 to 16.
In any
organization, company, state or country, the quality of its leaders determine
to a very large extent the nature of its progress. No matter what happens, the
people never rise above their leaders. If the leaders are excellent, the people
are good, if the leaders are good, the people are mediocre, if the leaders are
mediocre, the people are bad and if the leaders are bad, the people are worse.
Sick leaders produce sick organizations and there is no miracle about this.
The
shepherds of Israel never measured up to the standards God wanted for them.
Each time a king arose who was God-fearing, the people prospered but whenever
they had a king who went after other gods, the people suffered a great deal.
During the reign of David, the land enjoyed so much peace and progress up on
till when David lost control and went after somebody’s wife. Solomon became
king and ruled Israel under the fear of God but he soon grew old and started
marrying foreign wives who came with their idols thereby desecrating the land.
From this time on, the kingdom of Israel was never stable.
In Nigeria
today, leadership has become a business. It is now the number one place people
think of when they want to make money for themselves. Politicians spend
millions of naira just to get into power and they moment they win the election,
they try to get back ten times the money they had invested while running for
office. It is only after they have provided for themselves that they think of
the people.
Away from
politics, we have churches all over the country today headed by leaders and
that includes me. The fact that the church is no longer affecting the morality
of the society is a clear sign that we shepherds are not living up to
expectation anymore. We have stopped telling the truth and have stopped showing
good example. We are even more political than the politicians themselves and we
are working for our stomachs rather than the building of God’s kingdom on
earth.
As Ezekiel
prophesies in today’s first reading: Woe to the shepherds who have been
pasturing themselves…feeding on their milk, wearing their wool, slaughtering
the fatlings, neglecting the weak, the sick or injured ones. These shepherds do
nothing about the strayed ones but lord it over them harshly.
Whether
you like it or not, it is either you are leader right now or would become a
leader in the nearest future. What type of leader would you turn out to be?
It is also
important to bear in mind that being a leader does not mean that one has become
a god. No matter how high the position you hold, you are still a labourer; you
remain accountable to God. It is God who made you a leader and he alone decides
what becomes of your future and the reward you get. As we see in today’s Gospel
passage, God is the owner of the vineyard. He does the hiring and the
selection. The fact that you started before others does not mean you are
entitled to a higher pay. Indeed the greatest problems leaders have is the
sense of entitlement. They feel they deserve the worship of others, hence they
treat people like nothing but the truth is that before God all men are equal.
At the end, God will pay each person not according to the number of years he or
she has lived but according to the agreement each had reached with God.
Let us
pray:
Lord
Jesus, use me as your instrument to shepherd your flock and perform my duty as
a good labourer. Amen
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you.
Happy
anniversary to all priests ordained today and all who are celebrating theirs
this very week. Mary, mother of priests, pray for us.
Fr. Abu
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