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Ordinary Miracles and Active Surrendering

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 21: JANUARY 21, 2022]

Mark 3:13-19. Jesus appoints twelve Apostles

Ordinary Miracles and Active Surrendering

Jesus chose ordinary and sinful men to carry out His Word and ministry. As I mentioned in my previous reflections, I do not think that a faith anchored on supernatural miracles is a strong one. And I build on this insight: I think that a faith anchored on ordinary miracles is a stronger one.

Relying only on the supernatural, from my experience, makes us think we are powerless and insignificant. We begin to misconstrue surrendering as passive, as in quitting or giving up. But to be authentic stewards of God’s love and grace, surrendering should mean that we actively let God be God, with each of us as His instruments.

We are not called to be supernatural, but to push the bounds of the ordinary so we could pursue being extraordinary. The organizations and systems we design and participate in are capable of producing extraordinary virtuous cycles.

Let God take care of the supernatural, while we maximize the potential of the natural and the beautiful ordinary, accumulating good deeds and habits, growing our virtues to be extraordinary.

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“Word” of mouth

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 20: JANUARY 20, 2022]

Mark 3:7-12. Jesus avoids the crowd after his stories of healing spread

“Word” of mouth

Jesus has mentioned to His disciples, those Who he has healed, even towards unclean spirits: do not tell others about Him. Yet, the amazed public are compelled to tell stories about Him.

The challenge with word-of-mouth is that there could be misperceptions and miscommunications. But then, if an ordinary person witnesses an extraordinary or supernatural event, can we blame that person from spreading stories and narratives?

Thus, perhaps the calling for us is to be critical; to postpone judgement, and to seek evidence beyond hearsay. To personally witness actions and miracles, and not merely accept the stories of our friendly Marites.

Jesus understood that people have misconceptions about what a “messiah” could be, and this is relevant in today’s politics. We keep on hoping for “saviors” in the form of politicians or personalities.

But isn’t the message of Jesus to not just blindly follow Him? His message is to pursue the Word, the Truth, to love God, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. The apparent ambiguity of the parables is a challenge for us to engage in our own personal journey.

Like stories and mangas, we know the ending of the story: the hero struggles, but ultimately vanquishes the enemy. The goal is clear, but the journey still needs to be undertaken. For fans of One Piece, we know that Luffy will be the Pirate King. He had opportunities to have the One Piece treasure be spoiled to him at the middle of his journey, but he refused shortcuts.

What makes the destination meaningful is the personal journey.

Let’s go beyond word-of-mouth and seek for ourselves the Word.

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The good that underlies rules and the law

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 19: JANUARY 19, 2022]

Mark 3:1-6. Jesus heals during the sabbath

The good that underlies rules and the law

“Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath rather than to do evil, to save life rather than to destroy it?”

The legal and the ethical do not always go hand in hand. The example of Jesus shows that it is more important to do good than to blindly comply with the letter of the law.

Businesses and organizations have to operate within the constraints of internal policies and the law. The sad story is when managers find loopholes or technicalities to exploit for greed’s sake, when it can be for pursuing what is good.

For most of us, it is more comfortable to say “we complied with the rules” rather than “we risked breaking the rules for the greater good”. I fully understand this line of thinking. It is safe.

But if we are to be authentically virtuous as leaders, the challenge is to embrace the pursuit of insight and wisdom. It is more difficult. It is uncomfortable. But this may be the way to fully understand the Word.

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Integral human development requires adapting to the context

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 18: JANUARY 18, 2022]

Mark 2:23-28. The Sabbath was made for man

Integral human development requires adapting to the context

The recent gospels feature the Pharisees questioning why Jesus seems to not follow old traditions and laws to the letter. Jesus responds by giving analogies or encouraging a deeper reflection – apprehending the spirit of the law, not just the letters of the law.

The way we approach education and the sciences seem to be biased towards finding “laws” and deducing implications from these laws. Laboratory experiments and controlled trials are heralded as the best forms of research to find consistent patterns. This may be the case in the natural sciences, but this is not practical in theology, social sciences, and management.

Our society, culture, organizations, and spirituality are always contextually laden. Thus, we owe it to our natural curiosity, our pure desire to know, and our pursuit of well-being and integral human development to engage in a form of holistic insighting.

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Fine Wine

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 17: JANUARY 17, 2022]

Mark 2:18-22. No one pours new wine into old wineskins.

Fine Wine

“Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins are ruined. Rather, new wine is poured into fresh wineskins.”

Our faithfulness and reasonableness cannot be stagnant. If we are to be vessels that can receive the Wine, we too shall prepare and improve ourselves.

In the same vein, businesses and organizations cannot be stuck in the status quo. Scholars and practitioners have extensively written – a truly sustainable business is entangled with the society and the planet. A business that merely exploits communities and the ecology will face the righteous anger of the oppressed and Mother Nature.

If businesses and organizations are to receive the New Wine, the old wineskins of ruthless efficiency and greedy profit maximization should be abandoned. It is not easy. It will require critical and creative thinking to do this. If Rizal has kept on mentioning that the youth is the hope of the motherland, it is on our generation to realize the hopes of our forefathers.

The challenge: we need to be a fresher kind of wineskin, ready to intake the New Wine, so that together, we can age just fine.

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If God was your child or your student, how would you deal with it?

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 16: JANUARY 16, 2022]

There are two Gospels for today – one is for the general Sunday mass and the other is in celebration of the feast of Santo Niño in the Philippines.

Luke 2:41-52. The finding of the Child Jesus at the temple (Feast of Sto. Niño)

John 2:1-11. Wedding at Cana

If God was your child or your student, how would you deal with it?

In both readings, the role of Mama Mary and St. Joseph as parents of Jesus are clear: to care for Him and for them to be our intercessors towards Him.

In traditional corporate settings, we’re familiar with office politics. Ruthless top-level managers fighting to keep their power and authority over other employees. I’ve heard both horror stories and heartwarming stories – bosses posing as know-it-all and even demeaning subordinates as stupid, and supermentors being lavish with praise and feedback, allowing employees to realize their potential.

At first, when I started teaching (and my age difference compared with my students were not that far off), I felt a bit insecure about the fact that my students could be better than me. I felt that I had to project expertise to demand respect. After a while, I realized that the vocation of teaching and mentorship is to encourage my students to be better than me, and witnessing students fulfill their potential is such a heartwarming feeling.

I thought my self-worth would be reduced if mentees became better than me. I realized that it was more frustrating to see students give up or be apathetic about their personal development.

And maybe this is how Mama Mary and St. Joseph felt. Somehow, they still have some things to teach God, and somehow, God would obey (which is different from blindly complying). If Jesus followed the Fourth Commandment and honored His human parents, why shouldn’t we?

I wonder how Mama Mary and St. Joseph felt – they were blessed the opportunity to raise God. As a child, perhaps it is my duty to realize my potential and make my parents proud. As a teacher, I could somewhat approximate, even if a little bit, how to teach students to be virtuous.

My Lourdesian education told me: be like Christ. But isn’t it a more profound yet more attainable experience to raise others to be like Christ? Maybe they go together.

As we allow others to be like Christ, we too become like Him.

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Penge naman ako niyan!

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 15: JANUARY 15, 2022]

Mark 2:13-17. Jesus eats with sinners and tax collectors

Penge naman ako niyan!

When we share our food, our baon, what do we really share? A piece of bread, or a piece of ourselves?

Penge naman ako niyan! What are we really asking for, that sumptious viand, or the attention of our friend?

The beer we drink, the sisig we share, the fishballs we munch – can they reach the brokenhearted in a world of physical distancing?

As Jesus sought those who need healing, so should we too.

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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!





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(Mis)Communicating the Word?

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 13: JANUARY 13, 2022]

Mark 1:40-45. Jesus heals a leper

(Mis)Communicating the Word?

“See that you tell no one anything, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”

Here He goes again, discouraging others to tell anyone what happened. Yet, people keep on spreading stories of what happened.

If the healing of Jesus happened today, I can imagine: Jesus miraculously heals someone who is sick due to COVID-19, then the person, despite Jesus telling the person to not say a word, posts the story anyway on social media. The game of pass the message begins, and maybe at the worst, the Word is miscommunicated or misrepresented.

Is it possible not to miscommunicate, especially when we aim to make sense of the Word? I don’t think so. And maybe Jesus knew this.

So perhaps the invitation is continuous critical reflection and dialogue, harmonizing both faith and reason.

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Taya-Kilos, Commitment-Action

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 12: JANUARY 12, 2022]

Mark 1:29-39. Jesus continues to preach and drive demons out

Taya-Kilos, Commitment-Action

Something fascinating about how Jesus did His healing is that He tells those who He has healed not to tell others what happened. Why would this be the case?

This goes against conventional management, marketing, and political wisdom, which would encourage self-promotion or promotion of products and services. Didn’t the human Jesus want to be popular?

My interpretation is that Jesus perhaps did not want His person to be the focus; what matters is that He has healed, and good has come out of His encounter with the sick.

When Jesus asks us to have faith, perhaps the deeper message is to go beyond the flesh and seek out the Word and the Truth. Not to fall in love with mere appearances and passively wait for a human messiah, but to act out of love and strive to be more virtuous. Not to be merely amazed by miracles of a supernatural being, but to be inspired to be our own little miracles for our neighbors.

Jesus does not want yes-men, but whole persons who can dialogue and act with Him.



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