Imagine our workplaces if everyone prayed for the person they wanted to criticize. Imagine our workplaces if everyone did what they needed to do with competence and with love. In this 100^th episode of By Your Life, I offer you three practical things you can do that will perfect your business and your life.

Mass Readings Audio
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/2020/20_02_23.mp3

Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time – February 23, 2020

Welcome to the one-hundredth episode of By Your Life. I’m Lisa Huetteman and I am so excited to be hitting this milestone of 100 episodes. Whether you’ve been with me from the start or if this is your first time, 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 Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time. I don’t know about you, but this week’s readings are a bit challenging. First, we’re told to “Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.” (Lev 19:2), then Jesus tells us to “Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect!” (Mt 5:48) This is the second week in a row where Jesus has taken the old law and made the requirements even more difficult to achieve. How are we supposed to live up to this?

In our first reading this week from the Book of Leviticus, we were instructed, “Though you may have to reprove your fellow citizen, do not incur sin because of him. Take no revenge.”  (Lev 19:17-18) Then, in our Gospel, Jesus raised the bar. He said, “You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. (Mt 5:38-39)

Just this morning as I was driving home from Mass, I was stopped at a light behind a pickup truck. There was a car approaching the intersection from the right when our light turned green. The truck in front of me hit the gas at the same time the driver of the car decided he had time to make a quick right-hand turn in front of the truck. Now, the driver of the car probably shouldn’t have pulled out. But the truck driver just needed to take his foot off the gas, he didn’t even need to brake to let the car go ahead of him. But instead of hitting the brakes, he blared his horn and kept accelerating.

The guy driving the truck may have fit within the letter of the old law when he “reproved his fellow citizen” by laying on his horn. But in our Gospel, Jesus changed things. He is definitely telling us to cut that guy some slack when he pulls in front of you. Don’t let someone else’s bad behavior be an excuse for your bad behavior. We always want someone to give us a break (or is it a brake!) when we need to merge into traffic. Even the old law tells us “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Lev 19:18) Why is this so hard to do? Maybe it is because sometimes we don’t love ourselves.

This is the 100^th episode of the By Your Life podcast. Every week, with the help of my saint-in-the-making-husband and podcast producer, By Your Life has been published. How did this happen? I’ll tell you, it happened one week at a time. I never thought about 100 episodes when I started. I only thought about the first one, and then the next one, and then the third. I’d finish one episode and immediately read and reflect and pray about the next week’s scripture. Now, 100 are done and I’m getting ready to go out of town and I need to pack and I need to take care of other business before I go and I’m tempted to move on to Episode 101 without taking time to celebrate the milestone that 100 episodes is.

When I work with my coach, one of my assignments before we meet is to list my accomplishments since the last time we talked. Years ago, when I was starting my business, I always struggled to think about what I’d accomplished because there was always so much more to do. Nothing ever felt done. To this day nothing is ever done. I’ve never ever heard someone say, “now I’m all caught up!” There is always more to do. But, my coach said to me, “Lisa, when you worked in Corporate America, did you ever work for a boss who never stopped to appreciate what you did? Did you ever work for someone who was always asking for the next thing without acknowledging what you accomplished?” Of course, I had. So, he said, “Don’t be that person to yourself. Don’t forget to slow down enough to recognize and celebrate your success.”

Don’t be that person to yourself! What wisdom there is in those words. Jesus would add, “Don’t be that person to others, either.” Instead, just “Be holy.” (Lev 19:2) and “Be perfect.” (Mt 5:48). But how? How are we supposed to do that?

As I was reflecting on these readings, and feeling just a little bit overwhelmed, I was drawn to the verse from our second reading from St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. “Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Cor 3:16) And it dawned on me. We don’t have to do anything. We just have to be. Be the temple of God where the Spirit dwells.

Just being is totally different to my nature. I’m a doer… a goal setter and goal achiever by habit. I’m a business coach and I help others set and achieve goals. I am wired to figure out more efficient ways to get more done. I look for continuous process improvement. None of these things are bad, but when they become primary in your life, they can be detrimental.

And this was the second epiphany I had today. In being so task and results-oriented, I fail to be holy. I fail to be perfect. The Lord is holy, and our heavenly Father is perfect because He is love. When I just do I fail to love. It isn’t that I shouldn’t do things, but if my doing keeps me from loving, or if my doing is done without love, I’ve got my priorities out of whack. And I have my priorities out of whack all the time. In fact, it is my preoccupation with all that I have to do that causes me stress and keeps me from being holy, perfect, loving.

In last week’s episode of By Your Life, 099 Freedom to Choose, I talked about the power of our free will. So today, I chose to listen to myself and decided to stop worrying about doing all the things that are overwhelming me and start being a temple for the Spirit of God to dwell in and I was filled with peace. At least I was at first. But then, I noticed how my habits detract from my peace. I noticed that I am not only a doer, I value doers over those who I can’t count on to get things done. I am like that in the workplace, in ministry, volunteering, wherever I go. If I know that I can rely on you to read your email, follow instructions and respond if I can rely on you to do what you said you would or get back to me letting me know you can’t, if you are competent and responsible, you are higher on my list people that I value. If you’re not, you can be sure that I will complain about you.

Which brings me back to our Gospel reading. And then Jesus said, “I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” (Mt 5:44) and it made me think that while I don’t consider these folks I can’t rely on to be my enemies per se, I am a lot quicker to complain about them than I am to pray for them. So, I thought that I need to make a rule for myself that before I complain about someone, I have to pray for them.

No more than 30 minutes passed after I made this commitment and I ran into a friend. I had just seen her last week at a prayer service where she led the choir. She has a beautiful, angelic voice and I complimented her on her singing. I almost added, “you ought to take the microphone away from those other people.”, but I stopped myself. Oh, how quick I am to complain and criticize and oh how quick I am to forget to “Pray for those who persecute you.” (Mt. 5:44) remembering, our heavenly Father “makes his sun rise on the bad and the good” (Mt. 5:45) singers.

I am very aware that it is going to be close to impossible for me to be holy and be perfect. You and I know from work that when the goal seems impossible, instead of being challenging, it becomes discouraging. But I made the commitment to myself this week to do three things. Maybe these three things can help you too.

First, I’m going to use the affirmation, “I am the temple of God and the Holy Spirit dwells in me.” When I’m tempted to complain, I’ll say to myself, “I am the temple of God.” When I am irritated or annoyed, “I am the temple of God.” When I am in a hurry and others are in my way, “I am the temple of God.” When others fail me, “I am the temple of God.” When I feel all kinds of negative emotions, “I am the temple of God. The Holy Spirit dwells in me.”

I have been putting this affirmation into practice for the last 24 hours, starting with when I met my friend and was tempted to turn my compliment of her singing into a criticism of others. It has changed my perspective.

Second, when I am irritated, annoyed, disappointed, or hurt because of what others have done or failed to do, I am going to pray for them. I’m going to keep my commitment to pray for someone before I complain about them. Chances are, I won’t complain as much.

Third, and perhaps most importantly, if I can’t do something with love, I’m going to question why I am doing it at all. I will still be wired to get stuff done, but I hope that I’ll change how I do it. I’m sure that if I keep my commitment to affirm myself that “I am the temple of God and the Holy Spirit dwells in me”, and if I pray for those who persecute me, I can help but add a little love to everything I do.

Imagine our workplaces if everyone prayed for the person they wanted to criticize. Imagine our workplaces if everyone did what they needed to do with competence and with love. Imagine if we all allowed the Holy Spirit that dwells in each of us to guide our thoughts and our actions. We’d still get stuff done. We’d probably get more productive stuff done when we stop complaining. We may even get more stuff done more perfectly. We may even glorify the Lord, by what we do.

Let us call upon the Holy Spirit that dwells in us. Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful enkindle 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.

And, May God bless you abundantly this week and as you glorify the Lord by your life.

If you liked this episode, spread the word. You know what to do, forward, share, or click to post. Also, check out the Resources page where you can find a link to the books and other resources mentioned in other episodes of By Your Life. I’m always interested in what you think, so give me some feedback by leaving a comment.

Photo by Mateus Campos Felipe on Unsplash