We are afraid of things we do not understand
John 6:16-21. It is I. Do not be afraid
We are afraid of things we do not understand. We fear the unknown and the uncontrollable.
“It is I. Do not be afraid.”
Perhaps this is an invitation to gain insight into the Primary Insight, and this is precisely the means to overcome being afraid. In this sense, to be intelligent in insighting is to be courageous.
[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 120: APRIL 30, 2022]
What is the essence of a feast?
John 6:1-15. John’s version of the five loaves and two fish miracle
In a feast, most (if not all) participants commemorate a figure that represents the group. In a way, a feast is a means to celebrate a group’s identity. The inherent sharing and dialogue built into dining together seems to punctuate the message: it’s less about the person and more about the group.
When we celebrate birthdays, do we merely celebrate the celebrant, or do we celebrate the family or the barkada as a a whole?
When a couple has a series of monthsaries and anniversaries, is it about the individual or the couple that emerges from true love?
In a sense, a feast’s essence may be in the relationships and interactions of people that promotes love. Both miraculously and ordinarily, the feast allows us to celebrate Love.
When done appropriately, in feasts we can better know God. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if organizations can be platforms of feasts?
[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 119: APRIL 29, 2022]
How should we make sense of the wrath of God?
John 3:31-36. The wrath of God
The Old Testament has shown numerous instances of the seemingly wrathful side of God. In the New Testament, we have also witnessed Jesus being angry at those who have turned a place of worship into a place of business.
Perhaps it is this kind of righteous wrath that could instill that healthy form of “fear”, as in fear of God. But what do and should we precisely fear? Is it punishment? Is it hell?
To me, it’s more meaningful to fear disappointing God, similar to how we fear disappointing our parents, friends, and loved ones who have put their belief in us. At least, the example of Jesus shows an example of divinity that is not vengeful nor spiteful; thus, God does not direct His wrath on us, but to our sinful actions.
We should fear His wrath towards our actions, not because we fear that He may hurt us; but we fear that we have hurted Him.
If we fear hurting the ones we love, what more hurting Love Incarnate?
[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 118: APRIL 28, 2022]
What does it mean to fully believe?
John 3:16-21. God so loved the world that he gave His only Son
“… So that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.”
Can we fully believe something without knowing something? When we examine what believing means, it is a deliberate act. It’s hard to imagine that someone believes something only by accident; thus, fully believing requires that a person has gained insight into something, and judges that insight to be so, therefore, the manifested action is to believe that thing.
So if we want to claim that we fully believe in the True Good, then doesn’t that mean that we should act in accordance to our insight of what the True Good could be?
These days, we are prone to use words without realizing the gravity of the words’ meaning. Saying “I fully believe you” is such a weighty statement; it is a synthesis of both reason and faith.
[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 117: APRIL 27, 2022]
How can we know more about heaven?
John 3:7b-15. “You must be born from above.”
My attempt at daily reflections has led me to arrive at a tentative insight: that our knowledge of heaven and the True Good can only be retroduced, as in, inferring causal mechanisms and interactions between entities through events we may directly or indirectly experience. In a way, my understanding is informed by the philosophies of Aquinas and Lonergan, and I appreciate how beautiful the notion of having the Primary Insight and Intelligent Designer as characterizations of God.
We can better know God through systems and ecologies that just make too much sense or are just so beautifully complex that it seems unreasonable to say that everything happens by accident. The opportunity for different entities to interact harmoniously, for me, suggests the beautiful mind of a Creator.
Knowing about heaven is indeed an iterative journey; testing the limits of our reason by tempering it with faith.
And in a way, aren’t managers and entrepreneurs capable of letting us have a taste of heaven by designing benevolent, just, and harmonious organizations? There is something romantic about framing our journeys as virtuous cycles, always in a state of betterment and flourishing.
In this sense, maybe heaven is less about a “perfect state” but more about a “virtuous cycle process”. If managers and entrepreneurs embrace a more humanistic and ecological vocation, maybe organizations, like churches, can help bring heaven on earth, even for just a little bit.
[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 116: APRIL 26, 2022]
What does it mean to preach?
Mark 16:15-20. The disciples preached everywhere
In today’s context of constant information and communication, it is easy to transmit words. If by preach we mean “to talk about something”, there are many influencers and celebrities that do this for a living.
Since it is easy to communicate verbally or in a written manner, it is easier to fake. Hence, we have trolls and fake news purveyors in all parts of the internet. Everyone can be preachers of their own religions and cults. In a way, the age of information can also be seen as an age of mis- and disinformation, where appearances and bullshit can easily permeate the media we are exposed to.
Therefore, the reliability of the preacher cannot be contained anymore to the words one preaches. The preacher’s powers of persuasion rests on one’s track record of deeds. In a world where everyone can smith words, it is the virtuous virtuoso who can preach with the fullest authenticity.
Thus, the authentic preacher of the True Good has no choice but to play a consistent long game, where the preacher painstakenly aligns both the seen-experienced and the unseen. A fraudster, BS-er, or a liar cannot consistently align their spectacles with their narratives; there are bound to be slip ups.
But with truth and love as anchors, the authentic preacher will not get lost.
[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 115: APRIL 25, 2022]
Why are those who have not seen yet believe consider blessed?
John 20:19-31. Another account of the doubting Thomas story. “You believe because you can see me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”
As seekers of good, we somewhat need comprehensible and reasonable evidences to inform our faith. But in a sense, the words of Jesus in the doubting Thomas story seems to allow the possibility of divine revelation, wherein it is God who first reveals Himself actively to a person, rather than a person seeking God first.
I interpret this as a sign of why those who have not seen but authentically believe “blessed; this is precisely because they have received the rare grace of God or the Holy Spirit or Mama Mary revealing themselves to them, as in the case of Fatima and the Lourdesian apparitions.
What does this practically mean?
For me, a truly divine revelation should be impossible to ignore, as in how the other disciples encountered the risen Lord. But the more regular occurrence may resemble the experience of Thomas – we recognize the limits of our minds and our propensity to be fooled, therefore, we need evidence.
Whether we are like the other disciples or Thomas, to me, it doesn’t matter. God loves our uniqueness and respects our quirks; and He would help us in our providential journey. Thomas is not a villain and should not be villified; in many ways, we are and we should be like Him.
And we can take solace in the fact that like any other being in an authentic faithful relationship, Jesus would help us understand the kind of love He reveals to us.
[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 114: APRIL 24, 2022]
Battling unbelief and hardness of heart
Mark 16:9-15. Go and proclaim the gospel
If we do not pay attention to the way we think, we cannot take charge of our beliefs. If we do not pay attention to the way we feel, we cannot take charge of our hearts.
To proclaim is to proactively claim something, as in manifest the thing through a synthesis of thoughts, emotions, and actions. Both the beauty and challenge of our world is that we’re always in a state of being better. Not reflecting on our beliefs disables us from growing and flourishing.
How can we proclaim the gospel or even be the gospel that others could witness if we do not strengthen our thoughts and emotions towards a reasoned and faithful belief? This is a challenge of being virtuous.
[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 113: APRIL 23, 2022]
Meals can be opportunities for divine revelation
John 21:1-14. Jesus reveals Himself post-resurrection in a breakfast with disciples
Meals can be opportunities for divine revelation. Come to think of it: the food we eat are great evidences of how entangled we are with society and the world. Imagine the infinite number of things that have to go right for us to eat a delicious meal – from the farmers who cultivated the crop and the meat, to the business which procured the ingredients, and the cooks who manipulate heat and chemistry to deliver a scrumptious experience.
It is fitting that we say graces and gratitudes before meals, because when we deeply reflect about it, the food we eat is an evidence of how beautiful and complex God’s love can manifest in something we simply put in our mouths.
[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 112: APRIL 22, 2022]
Persuasion is different from manipulation
Luke 24:35-48. Jesus continues to persuade His disciples through reason rather than imposing through His power
There is something dignifying and empowering in the way Jesus tried to convince his disciples that He is resurrected. Imagine: if God is all-powerful, why didn’t He impose and manipulate His disciples on what to think?
Indeed, persuasion is different from manipulation. The former acknowledges the dignity of the person; while the latter abuses power to control a person’s behavior.
If God’s way of leadership is through the upholding of dignity and providing of evidence, who are we to lead like a puppeteer manipulating puppets?
[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 111: APRIL 21, 2022]