We live in a culture where “participation trophies” have essentially lowered the bar for an entire generation. In effect, what we are saying is that you aren’t capable of achieving a goal if you work hard, so let me just make you feel good about yourself by rewarding minimal effort. The problem is, deep down in our hearts, participation trophies don’t make us feel good and they do nothing to help us achieve our potential. In this edition of By Your Life, we’ll hear how Jesus challenges us to raise the bar.
Mass Readings Audio
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/2019/19_02_24.mp3
Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time – February 24, 2019
Welcome to the forty-eighth episode of By Your Life. Thank you for joining me. If you haven’t already, please subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher, or on the right side of this page so I can send you notifications when each new episode is posted. And please forward to a friend you think would benefit from By Your Life.
My goal is to inspire, empower, support, challenge, and encourage you to connect Sunday, with Monday-Friday, in a secular, business world. It is my desire to help you live our Catholic faith in the marketplace and to trust that it is good for business. I hope to offer you practical ways to go forth and glorify the Lord by your life.
In this edition, we will reflect on the readings for the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time. The first thing that came to mind when I read this week’s scripture was the word “integrity.” When I’m working with a company’s leadership team to define their core values, more often than not, one value that is considered as core by these teams is integrity. Most people believe that integrity is important. Without integrity, it almost makes no sense to bother defining core values in the first place.
However, when I ask these teams to define what integrity is, they struggle a bit. Some will say “honesty.” Others think, “doing the right thing even when no one is looking.” And sometimes I hear, “walking the talk” or “doing what you say you’re going to do.”
Each of these definitions of integrity isn’t wrong, but by themselves, they only partially capture the full meaning. According to Merriam-Webster’ online dictionary, the word “integrity” has 3 possible meanings:
1: firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values: INCORRUPTIBILITY (In other words, “doing the right thing even when no one is looking.”)
2: an unimpaired condition: SOUNDNESS (For example, you can trust the integrity of the bridge. It is built to last.)
3: the quality or state of being complete or undivided: COMPLETENESS (Or, “walking the talk” and “doing what you say you are going to do.”)
In the first reading, we hear about David sparing Saul’s life when he could have easily thrust his spear into him without anyone knowing. But David knew that was wrong and said, “who can lay a hand on the LORD’s anointed and remain innocent.” (1 Sam 26:9) That is doing the right thing even when no one is looking. That’s integrity.
But in the Gospel, Jesus raises the bar on what it means to do the right thing. Jesus challenges us to go beyond the minimum and even self-serving form of “doing the right thing” to what is difficult. He said, “For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same.” (Lk 6:32-33)
Jesus asks us to step it up a notch, a very big notch when he commands, “But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.” (Lk 6:35)
I don’t know about you, but this is a challenging teaching. It cuts to the core of our sense of fairness. But, trusting that Jesus always has our best interests at heart and would not lead us astray, we should try to live up to this, but how?
This week, I had the opportunity to hear Sandra Joseph speak. She is the actress who is the longest-running leading lady in Broadway’s longest-running show. Sandra played Christine Daaé in the Phantom of the Opera on Broadway for 10 years and almost 1,300 performances. She is now an author and keynote speaker who inspires others to face their fears and find their authentic voices.
When Sandra reflected on the 10 years of her life spent playing Christine, she admitted it was especially difficult to sing the same songs and speak the same lines, over and over, six nights a week, for 50 weeks out of the year, and keep it fresh. She came to a point in her career when she was truly burned out. That was when she met a friend for coffee, and he gave her a purple box. On top of the box was written the word “Perspective.” Inside the box were clippings and printed social media posts from people who had seen a performance of Phantom of the Opera, and many for the first time. She was blown away at how the show impacted people’s lives. Looking at each show from the audience’s perspective changed hers.
In the play, the Phantom wears a mask to cover a deformed face because he doesn’t think people can accept him as he is. And, don’t we all do that to some extent? We try to hide our imperfections and fear being found out.
Interestingly, there is a critical moment in the play when Christine looks at the deformed face of the Phantom, whom up to this point she viewed as a monster and feared. At this transformational moment, she looks at him as if for the first time and sings, “Pitiful creature of darkness, what kind of life have you known? God give me courage to show you, you are not alone.”
No, he is not alone. We are not alone. Yet, how quick are we to judge others without really getting to know them and what kind of life they have known? We are so wrapped up in our own view of the world, we fail to even consider how the other person views the world. Perspective!
“What kind of life have you known?” What a great question! What is it that brought you to this place, to behave this way, to value what you value? We don’t ask these questions. Instead, we judge based on our experience and what we value, and we are certain that our perspective is the right one. And our perspective is A right one, but not THE right one. Jesus knows this, and this is why he says, “Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned..” (Lk 6:37)
So, this is how we are to raise the bar and love our enemies, give without limit, and forgive the unforgivable. Jesus doesn’t set the expectation so high and not help us to meet it. If you want to love your enemy, stop judging them. Like Christine, the person you think is a monster, or at least is annoying and difficult to work with, has a story. Stop condemning them for the life they’ve lived that you do not know.
If you want to be able to “give to everyone who asks of you,” (Lk 6:30) consider and remember how generous God has been to you. It is not possible to give of yourself for the sake of others without getting a benefit in return. Just ask anyone who has volunteered to feed the homeless, or mentor a young person. It would be like trying to give a hug without getting one in return. It is just not possible.
When you give to everyone, Jesus promises “gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap,” (Lk 6:38) so you’ll want to keep on giving. To whom do you need to give of yourself a little more generously this week?
Perhaps, the most difficult challenge is to “forgive and you will be forgiven.” (Lk 6:37) but it is also the most important and the place to begin. You can’t love if you don’t forgive. You can’t be generous if you’re holding a grudge. And, you certainly aren’t being merciful, if you harbor unforgiveness. Forgiveness can be difficult, but forgiveness is a choice. Every day, we make this all-important choice. Who do you need to forgive?
So how can we take these lessons into work this week? I think there are two important ways. The first is to raise the bar. Samuel L Parker wrote a book titled 212° The Extra Degree. “The concept is simple. At 211°, water is hot. At 212°, it boils. And, the one extra degree of effort in business and in life… separates the good from the great!” ~ Samuel L. Parker (You can view a 3-minute 212° video here.)
At 211°, water is hot. At 212°, it boils. The one extra degree of effort separates the good from the great! ~ Samuel L. Parker @JustParkerDon’t settle for mediocrity. Don’t settle for good. There is nothing wrong with good, just as there is nothing wrong with loving those who love you. Just don’t stop there. Raise the bar. Go the extra mile, for your customers and for your employees. Don’t settle for mediocrity in your employees either. When you see in them what they are capable of, instead of how they just screwed up, you’re raising the bar for them too.
I have a client who uses the term “calling them out” when talking about holding people accountable. He’s usually not talking about “calling them out” in a positive way by holding them up as an example of exemplary performance. No, he will “call them out” when they mess up, don’t do what they should do, or otherwise screw up. The problem with this language is that it sets the tone for a conversation that focuses on failure. What should he do instead?
Well, start with forgiveness for the failure. Let it go and then apply the second lesson from Sunday’s readings and that is to see the potential in others. Jesus said, “the [Most High] himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.” (Lk 6:35) The Good Lord knows how much we fail, are ungrateful and wicked. And yet, He is kind because he focuses on our potential and our ability to repent, return to Him, and live in His love. He sees in us what we are not able to see in ourselves. He looks beyond the mask that hides our deformities and sees a person, created in His image, who loves, albeit imperfectly, and is worthy of His love.
So, raise the bar for yourself and those you work with this week. Don’t make excuses for yourself or accept excuses from others. Don’t point the finger and blame. Instead, take responsibility and encourage others to do the same. Because excuses are usually just problems to solve or obstacles to overcome, deal with the issues and work together to address them. See the potential and work to realize it.
You can start by raising the bar in small ways like being responsive to emails. People hate it when they send a message and get no response. (The only thing they hate more is getting a “reply to all” response that really didn’t need to get.) Maybe you need to go the extra mile by inviting that colleague who has been so difficult to have coffee and seek to understand why they see things the way they see them so you can resolve your differences and work together to solve problems. Maybe you just need to step up and ask.
When you think about the people you’ve hated working for or with, what did they do? Don’t be that person and don’t do those things. Instead, think about the person you love working for or with, what do they do? Be that person and do those things. “Be merciful, just as [also] your Father is merciful.” (Lk 6:36)
When you think about people you hated working for or with, what did they do? Don’t be that person and don’t do those things! Think about the person you love working for or with. What do they do? Be that person and do those things.Let us ask the Holy Spirit to help us live up to the high expectations that Jesus set for us this week so that we might love, give, and forgive in greater measure.
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in them, the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth.
May God bless you abundantly this week and may you glorify the Lord by your life. Amen.
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