The one thing I always found to be a challenge in leading teams is bringing different people together fostering collaboration towards a goal. A company’s goals have to be achieved for the sake of the stockholders and financial viability of the company. It requires a team of individuals to collaborate together to collectively achieve the objective. Sometimes people prioritize their achievements over the group. Workers can be biased and pass judgement on others because they hold different views. Others are perfectionists which stifle flexibility and cause collaboration to falter.
I am sure we all experienced this while we worked within an organization. We probably can think of people we haveworked with in the past that had these same qualities. The challenge is to move the group from a “I know it all attitude” to one of “learn it all together” mentality! This would change the focus from only personal achievement to the collectivesuccess of the team.
Jesus found many strong personalities in his team as well, in fact, we hear in today’s Gospel about his beloved discipleJohn who was one of the brothers Jesus named the “Sons of Thunder”, Ouch! They must have been a handful for Jesus. John became disturbed because someone other than the disciples were performing miracles in Jesus’ name. He judged that this person was not part of their group. He and his fellow disciples were chosen by Jesus, so they were exclusive in doing the work in his mind. We see the same idea in the first reading where Joshua complained to Moses about Eldad and Medad. They were not present among the group at the tent to receive the Holy Spirit, so Joshua wanted Moses to exclude them. However, the Lord sent them the Holy Spirit even though they were not with the group.
The Lord speaks to us through scripture to stop finding differences and faults in each other when the goal is the same for everyone. Working to realize the goal of bringing the kingdom of God on Earth requires us to foster collaboration with others in the spirit of Jesus. We need to cut out elements that hinder genuine connection and mutual growth. These elements can be our self-centered tendencies, judgements, prejudices or the desire for perfection within us. By letting go of these elements we can start to focus on our similarities rather than our differences in spreading the Gospel. We can play to each other’s unique strengths and come together as a team no matter our differences. Our society tells us to “cancel people” if they do not believe the same way as the mainstream group. This is something we need to resist as disciples. If we follow that mainstream philosophy we keep ourselves and others from a deeper relationship with God and we hurt one another through division. Inviting each other to work together despite our differences helps create a space where genuine collaboration and understanding can thrive, reflecting the love and unity that Jesus calls us to embody. I believe that this Gospel message is something we should seriously reflect on especially as we approach this November!