[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 11: JANUARY 11, 2022]

The greater enemy of authenticity is BS

Mark 1:21-28. Jesus drives away an unclean spirit

If the Word is analogous to the Truth, what would be appropriately analogous for “unclean spirit”? A lying spirit?

For me, the greater enemy of the Truth or the person pursuing authenticity is not necessarily lies. The greater enemy is… bullshit (BS).

(See a quick introduction on bullshit as a technical term, popularized by Harry G. Frankfurt: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Bullshit)

It’s rather fascinating to encounter BS as a technical term in the academe, and somehow there is both humor and discomfort when I discuss this with colleagues and students (yes, in one of our humanistic management classes, one of the modules is to discuss BS!)

In a sense, Frankfurt argues that a liar respects the truth (and deliberately chooses to conceal it), while a BS-er does not care. A BS-er would tell anything — a narrative, a claim, an appearance — without regards to truth, as long as the claim benefits the BS-er.

I’m beginning to agree that BS is more harmful than lying. Come to think of it, there is such thing as “white lies” — something that is said with good intentions, to protect another from the harshness of truth (because truth can be inconvenient, indeed). But is there such thing as a “white bullshit”? (Haha, the imagery of a bird’s poop come to mind.) Seriously though, I can appreciate how a white lie can be well-intentioned, but BS seems very selfish, more self-serving.

Authenticity and critical reflection of the Word invites us to think and arrive at reasonable judgements. BS does not; it’s overly concerned on what looks good, what feels good, without critical appreciation and internalization of a substance or mechanism. This is why I don’t think anchoring faith only on a supernatural experience or supernatural apparition is sturdy; at worst, it can be a form of BS that just makes us feel good, but ultimately prevents us from a deeper understanding of God.

In corporations, fixating only on the financial bottomline (and even manipulating the books to appear “good”) is a form of BS. In politics, claims and narratives without regard to truth is BS (ahem, “Perception is real, the truth is not.” Google this quote!)

I pray that the Word has some answers on how we can pursue Truth. As Lonergan argued, we have a “pure desire to know” and this pure desire is oriented towards the good. Thus, we should avoid the tragedy of avoiding the pursuit of eureka moments; our quest for insights is what makes us more integral humans.

BS may smell good at first, but the stench it brings to our spirit is undeniable.