With a Little Help from my Friends

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 14: JANUARY 14, 2022]

Mark 2:1-12. Healing and forgiveness of the paralytic

With a Little Help from my Friends

The 365 Days with the Lord 2022 book focuses the reflection on the actions of the paralytic man’s four friends. The friends were the ones who found ways so that their paralyzed friend would be healed.

In this sense, the action of the friends helped enable the healing and forgiveness of the paralytic. Perhaps this act of love and solidarity between friends is what Jesus recognized.

Among the recent gospels on healing, I think today’s gospel demonstrated the greater good. What could be more heartwarming than friends both praying and ACTING for you and WITH you?

This is the challenge that organizations should embrace. Despite our physical distance, how can we pray and act for and with each other? From a reasonableness perspective, we cannot wait for a supernatural miracle where the coronavirus would magically be erased. We should trust our friends from the medical field, get vaccinated, get boosted. We can leverage on technology to maintain connections, friendships, despite the need for physical distance.

As managers and teachers, we have to rethink and redesign the way we approach our systems, our work, and our education, acknowledging that the virus is here to stay. We hope for synergy that is grounded on authenticity, just like the solidarity between the paralytic and his friends.

Then as we exhaust our reason and controllables, maybe, just maybe, faith enters, and Jesus heals…

We’ll get by with a little help from our friends!