ASCENSION AND SUCCESSION THEORY IN DIALOGUE

ASCENSION AND SUCCESSION THEORY IN DIALOGUE

Cornelius Afebu Omonokhua

It is the wish and desire of every good leader to leave behind a good name, a good community, a good society or a good organization. One of the strategies to achieve this noble desire is for the leader to know his or her followers and colleagues very closely through intra community dialogue and cordial relationship. This is often aimed at a good and smooth replacements of personnel and successor should the leader retires or dies. Any organization without a good succession planning is bound to suffer different types of chaos, anarchy and insurrection. Some traditional societies try to avoid this anarchy by making the first born of a traditional ruler heir apparent to the throne. The question still remains whether this has really produced the desired result especially when the first son is not capable, competently incompetent or convincingly irresponsible.   .

From the beginning of his ministry, Jesus was conscious of the continuation of his mission. He formed a group of disciples and apostles. He took time to teach them and prepared them to be witnesses to his life, death and resurrection. This he did in words and deeds. Out of the twelve, he appointed Peter to be the head of the community. The resurrected Jesus was taken up to heaven in his resurrected body, in the presence of eleven of his apostles, occurring 40 days after the resurrection. In the biblical narrative, an angel tells the watching disciples that Jesus’ second coming will take place in the same manner as his ascension. Jesus in preparing his followers for the mission after his exit alluded to his ascension (Luke 24, 50-53; Mark 16:19). A more detailed account of Jesus’ bodily Ascension into the clouds is given in the Acts of the Apostles (1, 9-11).

The Ascension of Jesus is professed in the Nicene Creed and in the Apostles’ Creed. The Ascension implies Jesus’ humanity being taken into Heaven.  The Feast of the Ascension is celebrated on the 40^th day of Easter (always a Thursday).  The feast dates back at least to the later 4^th century,  The Ascension is one of the five major milestones in the gospel narrative of the life of Jesus, the others being Baptism, Transfiguration, Crucifixion, and Resurrection. In the Gospel of Mark 16, 14, after the resurrection, Jesus “was manifested unto the eleven themselves as they sat at meal”. At the meal, Jesus said to them, “Go ye into the entire world, and preach the gospel to the whole creation. The Ascension is described in Mark 16, 19: “After he had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and seated at the right hand of God.” In Luke, Jesus leads the eleven disciples to Bethany, not far from Jerusalem (Luke 24, 50-52). The return of the disciples to Jerusalem   after the Ascension is significant. The ministry of Jesus started there. 

Although Jesus had prepared his disciples for the event of his departure from them, they still were missing him very tenderly. Jesus had left behind a viable community that would continue the mission. The two men clothed in white that appeared to the apostles told them that Jesus will return in the same manner as he was taken, and the apostles return to Jerusalem. It appears that Jesus foresaw the attitude of this scenario at his ascension. In John 6, 62, Jesus asks the Jews: “What if then you see the Son of Man ascend up where he was before” and in (John 20, 17) Jesus told Mary Magdalene “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am returning to my Father and your Father, to My God and to your God.”

The ascension gives meaning to the succession theory of Jesus. This ascension is a clear and pragmatic message that whatever has a beginning must have an end. No condition is permanent and no position is permanent. Every good leader therefore must develop and follow a strategic planning of succession which will keep the community or organization in “perpetuity”. Before the conversion of Constantine in 312 AD, the early Christians honored the Ascension of Christ in a cave on the Mount of Olives because they were able to organize themselves under a respected leadership that Jesus had set in motion. By 384 AD, the place of the Ascension was venerated on the present open site, uphill from the cave.

In the homily of Pope Saint John Paul II on May 24, 1979 (Vatican website), the Holy Father pointed out the significance of the Ascension. Jesus had foretold of his Ascension but promised to go and prepare a place for his followers (John 14, 2) convinced that the Pope, the successor of Peter would feed and take care of the flock. As a result of the fate of Judas, Peter presided over the election of Matthias to complete the symbolic twelve. The first consideration was someone who is not a stranger to the community. There was need for somebody “out of the men who have been with us the whole time that the Lord Jesus was living with us, from the time when John was baptizing until the day when he was taken up from us, one must be appointed to serve with us as a witness to his resurrection” (Acts 1, 21-20). The second step was nomination: “Having nominated two candidates, Joseph known as Barsabbas, whose surname was Justus and Matthias” (Acts 1, 20). The next step was prayer and then they “drew lots for them”, and the lot fell on Matthias who was listed as one of the twelve apostles (Acts 1, 24-26).

In the world today, leadership is becoming a “do or die” affair. Even some people in the Church easily forget that leadership is for service and that a leader is a steward and not “an owner”. Fighting for positions is a clear sign that the candidate is in quest of his or her own selfish interest and not the interest of the common good. It is sad that some people retire from offices and positions without a successor. Very often this is caused by an unnecessary attachment to power. Some people do not want to share responsibilities with a prospective successor who should under study them.  If a leader does his or her work well with a good relationship in dialogue, he or she will be forever happy even at retirement. Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI is a very good example in this regard. It is more honorable to quit when the ovation is loudest.

In Secular organizations, succession planning is indispensable. This is why private organizations are more careful in identifying skills than public sectors that has almost be turned to “no man’s business” in Nigeria. Many people take public offices for granted because they think that they are working for government. There should be checks and balances in every establishment through a process of identifying and developing the talents of people. Promotions should be based not only in intellectual merits but in moral and proficient acumen.  This increases the capacity and availability of experienced and capable people who would gladly assume specific roles for professional fulfillments. This calls for aptitude study in “replacement planning”. “Effective succession or talent-pool management concerns itself with building a series of feeder groups up and down the entire leadership pipeline or progression” (Charan, Drotter, Noel, 2001).  Applicants should be employed based on merit which can be assessed not just by paper qualifications but practical interviews. This helps a lot in recruiting superior employees, develop their knowledge, skills, and abilities, and prepare them for advancement or promotion into ever more challenging roles.  Succession planning guarantees the availability of employees who are ready and waiting to fill new roles. This can also improve employee commitment and retention to reach the goal and vision of the establishment. It is sad that in the world today, talents and professionalism are no longer respected. There are many people who are in key positions not because they can do the job but because they happen to know an influential person. The Ascension and Succession theory of Jesus Christ enabled the apostles to be so committed to such an extent that they except John were killed while witnessing to Christ.