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Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time – October 24, 2021

Welcome to the one hundred and eighty-seventh episode of By Your Life. Thank you for joining me. 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. If you haven’t already, please subscribe via your favorite podcast app, or on the right side of the 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.

Righteous Rebuke

In this edition, we will reflect on the readings for the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time. (Year B) A headline in the Wall Street Journal last week stated: Facebook Is Rebuked by Oversight Board Over Transparency on Treatment of Prominent Users. Evidently, Facebook, which created the board to provide guidance about the company’s enforcement systems and make binding decisions about specific enforcement actions, had not been forthcoming when answering questions put forward by the board so, the board rebuked them and justifiably so.

Silencing Debate

These days in our modern culture it is common for people to rebuke anyone whose beliefs are different than theirs. Social media has created a venue for people to express sharp disapproval or criticism of someone because of their beliefs, behavior, or actions. This phenomenon has spread to all media and to corporations who are silencing those they disagree with. Look no further than Amazon who removed Ryan Anderson’s book on the scientific, medical, philosophical, and legal aspects of transgender issues.

In response, Ryan Anderson the author of When Harry became Sally, wrote an opinion piece in USA Today where he said that when answering a question from lawmakers, “Amazon eventually claimed it has ‘chosen not to sell books that frame LGBTQ+ identity as a mental illness.’ My book, of course, does nothing of the sort. It acknowledges what everyone agrees on: that gender dysphoria is a serious condition that can cause great suffering. The only disagreement is how best to treat patients who experience gender dysphoria.”

“Rather than attempting to reassign bodies to line up with misguided thoughts and feelings, we should at least attempt what is possible: helping people to align their thoughts and feelings with the reality of the body. That’s what the research in my book reveals.” That’s the debate Amazon is shutting down.

Dismissing Others

Sometimes we ought to be rebuked for our behavior or actions. We deserve it and it is for our benefit. But, in our Gospel this Sunday, when Bartimaeus the blind man calls out to Jesus saying, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me. Many rebuked him, telling him to be silent.” (Mk 10:47-48) Was he silenced because of his belief that Jesus was the Messiah? I doubt it. He was rebuked because he was a beggar. It is sad, but how often do we dismiss others because of their status?

Very early in my career, I was a financial analyst for our company. That meant that I crunched numbers and created forecasts for business units and special projects. I was assigned to a team that was developing a business plan for a new product in a new market. Our company hired high-priced consultants to guide us through the planning process. My job was to create the financial representation of the sales, marketing and operations plans.

A critical assumption and key to the financial viability of this plan were that the sales cycle would be short—a one-call close. At $50K, the product was relatively low priced and had a strong ROI for the customer, so they justified the short sales cycle. But based on my limited experience, I didn’t think that was likely. I knew that our company policies required multiple approvals for a $50K expenditure and I expected that our target customers would have similar purchasing controls. When I voiced my concern, the consultant rebuked me and told me to be quiet.

Refusing to Be Silenced

When the crowd rebuked Bartimaeus, it only caused him to call out all the more, because the one who was physically blind could see what the others couldn’t. He had a perspective that the disciples and crowd didn’t and more importantly, he had the faith to keep calling out to the Son of David. Bartimaeus knew that Jesus was the Messiah and could heal him of his blindness. The real blind ones in our Gospel story are the ones who dismissed the beggar and told him to be quiet.

I should have been like Bartimaeus and kept calling out all the more because I was right. When we implemented the plan, the sales cycle was 6-7 times the one-call close, and the selling costs ate into our already thin margins making the product line unprofitable. I could see what our consultants couldn’t, but I didn’t have faith like Bartimaeus to speak with conviction. I was silenced by the consultant’s rebuke. Unlike Bartimaeus, being silent didn’t cost me the chance to regain my sight, but the cost to our company was significant.

We are all placed in situations where we are rebuked. Sometimes we should take the feedback and learn from it, and other times we should speak up all the more. I learned from that experience and never again kept quiet even when speaking up was unpopular or politically opposed. The powers that be didn’t always listen to me but at least I provided them with honest input to consider when making their decisions.

Learning from Ignorance

There are also times when we hear or see something that ought to be corrected. We are the ones who have to decide whether to rebuke others or keep silent. One of the most difficult things to do is to correct others in a positive way. Leaders must remember that their number one job is to develop their people.

Which brings me to the second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews. The author of Hebrews wrote, “Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God. He is able to deal patiently with the ignorant and erring, for he himself is beset by weakness.” (Heb 5:1-2) You may not be a high priest, but as a leader in your organization, you have been placed there by God. How do you deal with the ignorant and erring? Do you appreciate and learn from your failures and those of others?

Henry Ford said, “Greatest thing in life is experience. Even mistakes have value.” It becomes a choice to appreciate the value in the potential lessons that are present in every mistake. I say “potential” lessons because not all people choose to learn the lessons and then all you have are mistakes.

But when you choose to learn the lesson, you grow and become better because of it and that is something to celebrate! Henry Ford also said, “All life is experience, and one level is exchanged for another only when its lesson is learned.” Whether or not you take that step to the next level is your choice. Whether or not you help someone else make it to the next level is your choice as a leader.

Correcting not Rebuking

Most errors don’t deserve the strong criticism of a rebuke. Stop for a moment and remember to “deal patiently with the ignorant and erring.” (Heb 5:2) The Greek word for patiently used here means the ability to sympathize. Knowing that you too have been ignorant and erring at one point or another in your life allows you to sympathize with others. How you choose to deal with mistakes—yours and others—will make or break you as a leader because it will make or break your relationships with those you lead.

I Want to See

One final thought: Bartimaeus called out to Jesus, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” (Mk 10:47) When Jesus asked what he wanted, Bartimaeus replied, “Master, I want to see.” (Mk 10:51) Most of us aren’t physically blind, but we still have limited sight. We fail to see things from the other person’s perspective. We fail to even try to understand what we cannot see, and we judge what we don’t understand. We fail to see how our choices are harming our relationships.

Scott Hahn wrote, “Bartimaeus, too, should be a sign for us. How often Christ passes us by—in the person of the poor, in the distressing guise of a troublesome family member or burdensome associate—and yet we don’t see Him.”

What if we were to take Bartimaeus’ approach and tell the Lord, “I want to see” how I am choosing to criticize instead of encouraging others? What if we wanted to see things the way others see them? What if we wanted to see how our actions impacted others? What if we wanted to see the other person the way God sees them? Imagine how different things would be if we told Jesus we want to see.

Let’s pray for God’s help.

Lord Jesus, you stopped and called Bartimaeus and asked him “What do you want me to do for you? Like the blind man, we want to see. We want to see the poor in our midst and see others as you see them. Give us the gift of spiritual vision and the courage to call out injustice when we see it. Help us to help each other to grow in holiness so that in everything we do, we may glorify you by our lives.

May God bless you abundantly with wisdom and insight and may you glorify the Lord by your life. Amen

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