Mass Readings Audio
https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/2022-02-06-usccb-daily-mass-readings
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time – February 6, 2022
Welcome to the two hundred and second episode of By Your Life. Thank you for joining me. I’m Lisa Huetteman and I know 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 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 Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time. (Year C) A week ago, there was an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal by Fay Vincent, the former commissioner of baseball from 1989-92. In the article titled, Dump the Character Standard for Baseball’s Hall of Fame, he lamented that “steroid-tarnished” Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens failed to get the requisite votes again this year and argued that the Hall of Fame should revise their election rules to eliminate the “integrity, sportsmanship [and] character” standard that is currently considered in addition to on-field performance.
Honoring the Honorable
He wrote, “By trying to inject nobility into its election standards, the Hall of Fame aimed to maintain the old-fashioned view that honors should accrue to the honorable. Messrs. Bonds and Clemens may not have been saints, but they were great players. Pretending anything else matters is hypocrisy.”
In critiquing Vincent’s opinion, one writer of a letter to the editors said, “Character, once regarded as the principal measure of goodness, is out of fashion, ‘hopelessly vague.’ All those silly virtues get in the way of winning, whether in politics, business or baseball.” He went on to ask, “Does the modernist believe that honors ought to accrue to the dishonorable?”
Vincent’s opinion piece points out that neither Bonds nor Clemens was proven to take illegal drugs and have not admitted to doing so. He also included references to many Hall of Famers whose character could be questioned and others who voters excluded and were later inducted, so the process has never been perfect. But to advocate for honoring the dishonorable?
God Honors the Dishonorable
Well, maybe. We are all dishonorable but that doesn’t have to be the end of our story. The message of this Sunday’s readings is that through God’s grace we are convicted of our sin, but in his mercy, God redeems us and calls us to go out and serve.
In the first reading, Isaiah’s unclean lips were touched by an ember and his wickedness was removed and his sin purged. (Is 6:7) Then Isaiah says, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” “Here I am,” I said; “send me!” (Is 6:8) And, in the second reading, St. Paul writes “I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective.” (1 Cor 15:9-10) And, in the Gospel, Simon Peter exclaims “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” (Lk 5:8) But Jesus said to him, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” (Lk 5:10)
Justifying the Dishonorable
This reminds me of Walter Pavlo, Jr’s story. I heard Walt speak at a conference and I also interviewed him when I was in the process of writing my book, The Value of Core Values. The short version of Walt’s story (which you can read in his book, Stolen Without A Gun: Confessions from inside history’s biggest accounting fraud–the collapse of MCI Worldcom), is that he was a decent guy, a former altar boy, with a lovely wife, two kids, and a promising career, but he got caught up in a culture of greed and it took him down. Walt witnessed everyone around him getting rich and decided he should have a share in the wealth. He ended up pleading guilty to obstruction of justice, money laundering and wire fraud and served 24 months in federal prison.
When you read his story, you have to wonder, how does this happen? How can good people end up doing such bad things? The short answer is that they—we—justify it. At MCI Worldcom, salespeople got rich opening accounts with mobsters and criminals who weren’t paying their bills, but the company turned a blind eye, happily recording record revenue growth while at the same time hiding the mounting receivables from investors and potential acquirers. The goal for the executives was to cash in their stock and all would be well.
In the midst of this culture of greed, Walt was approached by his future partners in crime who had devised a scheme to blackmail the criminals and embezzle discounted payments in exchange for keeping the accounts at MCI Worldcom open which allowed the thugs to stay in business. Walt agreed to participate as the inside man who altered the books. He justified his actions by rationalizing that MCI Worldcom was never going to get paid by the criminals anyway, so they weren’t really being harmed. And what’s so bad about squeezing a few dollars from the crooks? After all, they were criminals and got what they deserved.
Near the end of the book, in a discussion with his younger brother as he is being driven off to prison, Walt said, “In the movies you can tell the bad guys because they wear the black hats. In our dreams, they are witches or demons. But you know what? In real life, the bad guys are people like me.”
Redeeming the Dishonorable
But that wasn’t the end of the story because Walt was redeemed. The former altar boy turned con man has used his experience for good. As Frank Abagnale said in his endorsement of Walt’s book, his story “explains, but does not excuse, how people take the wrong path.” Walt acknowledge his failure and took responsibility for it. At his sentencing hearing, he said, “It has been said that the road to a righteous life is narrow, but it is nonetheless a road and not a tightrope. I should have known better and I vow to do better.” And he has. Walter Pavlo, Jr. now teaches Ethics and Corporate Responsibility with lectures, live guest interviews and case study analysis of current issues facing management.
The road to a righteous life is narrow, but it is nonetheless a road and not a tightrope. ~ Walter Pavlo, Jr. @waltpavloNo, sin wasn’t the end of the story for Walt Pavlo, for the prophet Isaiah, St. Paul, nor for Simon, the fisherman, and it doesn’t have to be the end of the story for us, either.
Listen to Your Gut. It is God Speaking
So, what if you are caught up in something you know isn’t right. Have you been justifying it as the normal course of business for your industry? Are you uneasy about it, even though everyone around you seems to be benefiting from it? Rejoice! The discomfort you feel is God’s grace working within you.
Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher to the papal household said, “If you have no struggle at all, be afraid and question yourself. Recognize that either this has happened as a free gift of God—in which case you should simply thank him and feel unworthy of it, or else it has happened because you have become accustomed to evil and compromise—in which case it is time for you to wake up.”
“If you have no struggle at all, be afraid and question yourself. It may be because you have become accustomed to evil and compromise—in which case it is time for you to wake up.” ~ Fr. Raniero CantalamessaThe evil one is ever-present, doing his thing, and taking us down with him. It happened to Walt Pavlo. He didn’t set out to commit fraud on a grand scale. It started with one small journal entry, and then another, and then he was numb to the sin. Wake up! Pay attention to that feeling in your gut. It is the Lord speaking to you. If you want to combat the devil, listen to His voice inside you.
Faith Over Fear
I understand that sometimes fear gets in the way. When deception, cheating, or doping is a common business practice in your industry or sport, you are afraid you can’t succeed in taking the honest route. When “everyone is doing it”, you are afraid to speak up when you witness something wrong. Or you speak up but get shut down, so you decide to keep quiet. You are afraid of losing your job or a big client. You are afraid because you’ve kept the Lord out of your work life. Fear cannot coexist with faith.
Fear and faith cannot coexist.After fishing all night, alone, doing things his own way, Simon Peter caught nothing. But then, he allowed Jesus into his boat—his place of business—and what happened when he was obedient to Jesus? “They caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat
to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking. (Lk 5:6-7) When he willingly cooperated with Jesus, he was overwhelmed by the catch, so much so, that the overabundance of God’s grace spilled over to the boats alongside him.
And so it is for us when we surrender all our life including our work to Christ. It is not enough to listen to Him and receive Him on Sundays. Do not be afraid to take Jesus to work with you.
Seek What is Honorable
When I first heard Walt Pavlo tell his story, it occurred to me that the news is filled with stories about companies like MCI Worldcom and organizations of all types that failed because their leaders have failed. These sensational stories make headlines. But we don’t hear much about the leaders who run companies that are successful and are doing things the right way. For some reason, this type of leadership isn’t newsworthy, but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
There are many companies that are run by leaders who are people of integrity and who follow ethical business practices and whose companies are profitable too. But profits aren’t their measure of success, rather they are a means to accomplish their mission and bring value to all their stakeholders—their customers, employees, shareholders, and the communities in which they live.
If you must compromise your values to work for a company, maybe it is time to leave.Maybe you aren’t exactly one of these great leaders. If so, it is never too late to change. Maybe you aren’t working for one of these great companies. If so, maybe it is time to leave if you’ve been compromising your values to stay. Do not be afraid. You may have to let go and leave behind the security you are clinging to in order to receive what God has planned for you. I did. Nineteen years ago, I knew my priorities were out of order and I left the security of a well-paying job. Simon Peter walked away and left everything and followed Jesus. Both Peter and I have been richly rewarded. Trust that you will be too.
Let us ask the Holy Spirit to enter our lives completely, so we may detach from material possessions, power, pride or whatever is keeping us from him, so when he asks, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?,” we will respond, “Here I am, … send me!” (Is 6:8)
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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