Mass Readings Audio
https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/2020-12-20-usccb-daily-mass-readings

Fourth Sunday of Advent – December 20, 2020

Welcome to the one hundred and forty-third episode of By Your Life. I’m Lisa Huetteman and I know that you have a hundred different things you could be doing right now, so I thank you for choosing 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’s my desire to help you live our Catholic faith in the marketplace. I hope to offer you practical ways to go forth and glorify the Lord by your life.

In this edition, we’ll reflect on the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Advent (Year B). This year, I have been following the Advent Meditations with the Holy Family in Fr. Mark Toup’s book Rejoice. In his reflections this past week, Fr. Toups wrote about how throughout history God has “rerouted” his people. He rerouted the Israelites when they were fleeing Egypt. He rerouted Mary when the angel appeared to her, as we heard in this week’s Gospel. He rerouted Joseph when Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit. And he reroutes us throughout our lives as well. Fr. Toups writes “Life seldom unfolds how we think or dream it will… God sometimes reroutes us from the path we are on and places us on a new, unexpected path.”

Rerouted in 2020

2020 certainly has been a year when the entire world has been rerouted. When I think of what I was looking forward to a year ago as I looked through the windshield toward the new year, I think of the trips we had planned to visit our daughters, conferences I was going to attend and speak at, my daughter’s graduation from college, a special trip to Europe for the Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany for our 25^th wedding anniversary, and visits from my brothers and sisters throughout the year. Looking in the rearview mirror, 2020 did not turn out as I had planned.

This worldwide pandemic changed all our plans. I know that you have had your own set of emotional, physical, economic, and spiritual challenges and disappointments. Each person has been rerouted in some way or another this year. Whether you have been working longer hours in difficult circumstances as an “essential” employee, or you’ve lost your job because of the economic devastation this virus has caused, you’ve been rerouted. Whether you’re a student who has had to navigate online learning or a teacher who has had to rethink your lesson plans for a virtual classroom, you’ve been rerouted. Whether you’re a business owner who has had to implement new processes and procedures to safely stay open, or a business owner who was forced to close your doors, you’ve been rerouted. And whether you’ve gotten ill from the virus or fear that you will, you’ve been rerouted.

These Are Not Unprecedented Times

But as much as we may think this has been an unusual year, it really hasn’t. As things started to unfold in the first quarter of this year, I watched a video of one of Simon Sinek’s company Zoom meetings. He told his team, “These are not unprecedented times.”, and he was right. His point was that we have gone through things in the past that have shaken the business world and sometimes have forced companies out of business. He pointed to the impact the internet had as an example. A lot of companies who couldn’t adapt to the new technology went out of business, but new businesses were created. Still, others were forced to adjust and reinvent themselves. Some adjusted proactively and others defensively and are still trying to figure things out.

Simon Sinek offers a solution to those who are wondering when things will get back to normal. He’ll tell you they’re not! One thing is for sure, we will never go back to what was normal pre-internet and we’re never going back to what it was like before the pandemic. The difference between those who will thrive or only try to survive is whether they have an infinite or a finite mindset.  He said, “What an infinite mindset helps you see is that what we are going though now is not an end, it is just part of the journey.”

What we are going through now is hard. It is difficult, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We also know that life will not be the same afterward. Simon Sinek compares this to World War II. What life was like before WWII and what life was like after WWII was totally different. What life was like before this pandemic and what life will be like after this pandemic will be totally different. Just like the war, this pandemic will come to an end, but there is no going back to normal.

An Infinite Mindset Creates a New Normal

If we can’t go back, how will we create a new normal? Through an infinite mindset. Restaurant businesses that were restricted to only 50% seating capacity and decided to fire their waiters, had a finite mindset. There are only so many dine-in customers to go around, so they took a defensive approach and cut back hoping to hang on until things go back to normal.

On the other hand, Simon Sinek talked about a fine dining restaurant in New York City with an infinite mindset. Instead of laying off their waiters, they rerouted them to package the food for takeout and delivery and kept everyone employed. But the people had to adapt too. If you only wanted to be a waiter, then there was no job for you. But if you were willing to take a new job, there was opportunity.

Simon Sinek’s own company was rerouted last March when all their live events were suddenly canceled. If they only saw themselves as a live event business, they were done. It was entirely new for Simon Sinek as well. He had to think “how do I put myself out there without a stage?” Although he’d written several books and had a huge YouTube following, those revenue sources were not going to replace what he brought in from his live event business and what financially sustained his staff. But, when he was rerouted, he said he was not worried about what he did, but worried about why he did it. Simon’s WHY: To inspire people to do the things that inspire them so that, together, each of us can change our world for the better.

North Star is the Lord

Do you know your WHY and are you firmly aligned with it? Your “WHY” is your purpose, your north star. Your “WHY” doesn’t change even though the “what” will be constantly changing as circumstances change. When you’re not clear about your “WHY”, you lose your bearings when you get rerouted.

Spiritually our “WHY” must be grounded in the Lord, otherwise, we lose our bearings. The emotions of fear and doubt, or our temptation to want to control the situation are common when our lives end up going in a different direction than we planned. When our lives get rerouted, it is important to keep our eyes on God because as Fr. Toups pointed out, “He often sees things that we do not see. When God rerouted the Israelites, he knew the inevitable victory that they would experience—even though all they could see was the Red Sea and the wilderness. When God rerouted Joseph, he knew exactly what Joseph needed so that he could embrace the circumstances” of Mary being with child.

There is No Going Back

My father-in-law fell and broke his hip the day after Thanksgiving. He had surgery and after 5 days in the hospital was transferred to a rehab facility where he’s making progress every day. My mother-in-law has dementia and cannot be left alone, so my husband has been staying with her and we’ve been tag-teaming to keep her company during the day. We’re making arrangements for them to move into an assisted living facility when he gets discharged. My father-in-law thinks they’ll eventually be moving back into their house. He’s expecting things to go back to normal, but we know that is never going to happen. That’s life. There is no going back, nor should we want to.

When I think about the times in my life where I experienced a major rerouting, I can look back now and recognize that just as the Lord said to David in our first reading, that “I was with you wherever you went.” (2 Sam 7:9), and as the angel said to Mary “The Lord is with you.” (Lk 1:28) I know for certain that he was with me. And there is no way I would want to go back to how things were before. Even though I wasn’t aware of it then, there were so many blessings in those times that I’d never want to give them up to go back to what had been my “normal”. Whether you recognize the blessings in your rerouting or not depends on your mindset. Those who are clinging to the “here and now” or the “what was” will not fare as well as those who are focused on eternity, recognizing that this is just a part of the journey.

Trust that North is North

There was an episode of The Amazing Race where teams were given a challenge of finding a buried treasure using an old-fashioned compass and a map. The teams that knew how to align their compass to the north were able to find their treasure with little difficulty. Those who failed to do so, were hopelessly lost, digging in all the wrong places. Those who failed were also the ones who were arguing about which way was north. They didn’t trust the compass to guide them to where they needed to go, and they tried to rely on their own wits.

We fail and become hopelessly lost when we don’t trust God and try to fix things on our own or look to another human being to take control for us. But to keep moving forward when we’re rerouted, we need to trust God and his plan. No one is a better example of this kind of trust than our Blessed Mother who also experienced the fear and doubt that we feel when our plans are changed. Yet, she totally trusted God and responded, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Lk 1:38) and the rest as they say is history.

Let’s pray

Father in heaven, help us to remember that all our gifts come from you. When we think we are in charge, remind us that we are your people and that you are our God. And let us have no gods — not wealth, not power, not fame, not material things — before you. God above, as you found favor in the Virgin Mary, help us live so that you find favor in our lives. Help us to follow Mary’s example of faith and trust. Along with Mary, help us, too, to say: “Yes, God, I am yours. Do with me as you want.”

And may God bless you abundantly this week, may you have a very Merry Christmas, and may you glorify the Lord by your life.

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