Incarnational leadership, need of the hour

By M L Satyan

Bengaluru, Dec 21, 2023: The Indian Parliament is facing suspension of opposition MPs almost every day. The number has crossed 150. It means that the voice of the people of 150 and more constituencies are not heard inside the temple of democracy. Continuous debates are held by political analysts and social activists about the sudden and unexpected suspensions.

In the similar way, anyone, who questions the corruptions and clerical sexual abuses present in the Catholic Church, is ex-communicated from the Church. A classic example is the Syro-Malabar Church in Kerala. The Pope has openly threatened the laity and the clergy of excommunication if they continue to insist on celebrating Mass facing the people.

In this scenario Christmas is fast approaching. What does the birth of Jesus convey to us. We read in the letter of St. Paul to Philippians “Although he was in the form of God and equal with God, he did not take advantage of this equality. Instead, he emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant, by becoming like other humans, by having a human appearance. He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, death on a cross.” (Phil.2:6-8).

To understand it better, I wish to narrate the story of the eagle. Once upon a time, while walking through the forest, a certain man found a young eagle. He took it home and put it in his Poultry Farm. The eagle soon learned to eat chicken-feed and to behave as chickens behave.

One day a Naturalist, who was passing by the Poultry Farm, noticed the young eagle inside. He asked the owner why the eagle, the king of the birds, should be confined to live in a Poultry Farm with chickens. The Poultry Farm owner said, “I thought that this bird was chicken. Since I have given it the chicken-feed and lives inside the Farm it has never learnt to fly.

The Naturalist said, “Still, this bird has the heart of an eagle and it can surely be taught to fly.” They discussed this matter and agreed to find out whether this was possible.

Standing near the Poultry Farm, the Naturalist gently took the eagle in his hands and said, “You belong to the sky, not to the earth. Stretch forth your wings and fly.” The bird was confused. It did not know what to do. It jumped down to be with the other chickens.

On the next day, the Naturalist took the eagle to the terrace of the Poultry Farm and urged the bird, “You are an eagle. Stretch forth your wings and fly.” The eagle was afraid and did not know about its unknown self. The confused bird jumped down again, joined the chickens and started eating the chicken-feed.

On the third day, the Naturalist rose early in the morning when it was still dark. He took the eagle and climbed on the nearby mountain. By this time the sun started rising. He held the eagle straight towards the sun and encouraged it by saying, “You are an eagle. You belong to the sky. Stretch forth your wings and fly.”

The eagle looked around for some time and started to tremble with fear. The Naturalist said loudly, “You are an eagle. You are the king of the bird. You stretch forth your wings and fly.” Suddenly, with a big cry, the eagle flew away into the sky. It may be that the eagle still remembers the Poultry Farm, the chickens and the chicken feed. But the eagle never returned there.

The hero of this story is the Naturalist. We find the following leadership qualities in him:

• He was a good communicator. He communicated his message to the eagle.
• He was open, honest and fair in his efforts
• He had dialogues with the poultry farm owner
• He acted consistently
• He gave needed information to the eagle to do its task of flying
• He kept focused through proper follow-ups
• He worked hard to complete his task
• He made sacrifices to achieve his goal
• He created a conducive atmosphere for the eagle to fly
• He gave continuous encouragement to the eagle
• He displayed tolerance and flexibility
• He demonstrated assertiveness
• He was open to accept his mistakes and correct them
• He made himself available and accessible
• He took up risks and challenges
• He imparted training to the eagle effectively
• He did continuous research and tried to be creative
• He was a lover of nature
• He had love and compassion for the eagle that was confined
• He respected the uniqueness/individuality of the eagle and chickens
• He had a clear vision and dream
• He had self-confidence and confidence in the eagle
• He set a high goal for the eagle and emphasized it with optimism

Let us put the common people, especially the marginalized communities, in the place of the eagle. A Tamil film song says, “If you confine a cuckoo to a cage and insist that it must sing, how will it sing? If you break the legs of a peacock and tell it to dance, how will it dance?”

In the similar way, millions of marginalized communities have been excluded from the mainstream society. They are confined to places like poultry farms without even knowing their worth, potentials and capabilities. Moreover, they have been deprived of their holistic growth for ages. It was in a such a scenario Jesus came into this world and exhibited his leadership qualities like the Naturalist.

Do we find today’s leaders having the above qualities? Sadly no. During this Christmas, let us not stop with just “festivities.” Let all those who are in the position of a leader – cardinals, arch/bishops, priests, religious brothers, nuns, directors, principals, managers and heads of institutions– do a sincere introspection and find out as to what an extent they lack true leadership qualities.

Like Jesus they need to think, speak and live with the marginalized people. This is the meaning of an incarnational leadership. Are we ready to imbibe these qualities?