[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 24: JANUARY 24, 2022]

Mark 3:22-30. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit

Unrepentance and impenitence are unforgivable sins against the Holy Spirit

Ignorance is bliss; but willfull ignorance is a grave sin, a blasphemy even. Yet to seek wisdom – the Word, the Primary Insight – is to dispose ourselves of ignorance and to bear a cross of responsibility for our insights, judgements, and actions.

As someone in the academe, I am called to teach, to study, to seek insights and wisdom, although it’s a process of trial-and-error. Perhaps an educator ridding one’s self of ignorance is a call for a sort of virtuous suffering. As we know more, we’re given more, and more is expected of us. This is the sacrificial aspect of the teaching vocation.

Unrepentance and impenitence are unforgivable sins against the Holy Spirit, precisely because a person who does not repent nor does penance is not seeking forgiveness. God is both just and merciful. I do not think this is in contrast to God’s unconditional love. If we arrive at the insight that we have sinned and judged for ourselves that we need to humbly ask for forgiveness, God will grant it.

But how can we find something that we do not seek? We must embark in our own personal journey towards humility and authenticity. This is the call to reflect and discern.

Businesses blindly pursuing profits at the expense of society, fanatics prioritizing defending their idols more than holding them accountable, and preferring a narrative or a side to “win” rather than to seek the most reasonable truth – we are in danger of committing blasphemy.

Open minds and open hearts lead to the nourishing of our spirits. But we must open our minds and hearts ourselves, because He will knock, but it’s up to us whether our doors would be opened.

[DAILY GOSPEL INSIGHTS AND REFLECTION FOR MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION 22: JANUARY 22, 2022]

Mark 3:20-21. He is out of his mind

Out of One’s Mind

Notice these three statements:

1. Jesus is judged by his relatives and the Pharisees as “out of his mind”, for He did things that are apparently in contrast with traditional laws or norms.

2. Millennials (and the upcoming Gen Z) are judged in terms of job-hopping or prioritizing passion or purpose over profits. Our generation is out of our minds.

3. Flat-earthers and anti-vaxxers are judged for going against scientific evidence about the planet Earth and the efficacy of vaccines. Society judges them as being out of their minds.

What’s the difference between the three statements? For me, the first and second statements show Jesus and the new generation (Jesus, infallible; generations, very fallible) engaging in AUTHENTIC DISCERNMENT, oriented towards what is truly good. The third statement seems born out of preferring a narrative, sticking to it, and not wanting to be wrong.

The insight: we can apparently appear as insane to others, but Jesus and the people who leave a coherent train of thought (or audit trail) means a predisposition to be subjected to constructive dialogue; about the TRUTH, WHAT is right rather than “who” is right.

Only the Word is always True; we humans iteratively correct our fallible understanding and judgements.

A narrative that does not subject to review and correction is the metaphorical cyanide cool-aid; a narrative that corrects itself and adapts to context based on evidence – perhaps this is providence.

[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.

[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.

[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.