Mass Readings Audio
https://bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/2021-01-10-usccb-daily-mass-readings
The Baptism of the Lord – January 10, 2021
Happy New Year and welcome to the one hundred and forty-sixth 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 Baptism of the Lord. Bishop Barron’s homily on this Sunday’s Gospel reading is titled, The God Who Enters Our Muddy Waters. He pointed out that all four Gospels give us a version of Jesus’ baptism by John. If you remember, John was proclaiming a baptism of repentance. But Jesus was the Son of God, so why would the incarnate Son of God seek out such a baptism? If the Gospel writers wanted to proclaim Jesus Christ as the Son of God, his baptism, which was intended for sinners would have been an embarrassment.
But, Bishop Barron said, that is exactly the point. He’s not a sinner who needs a Savior as we do. Yet, “Jesus standing in the muddy waters of the Jordan, shoulder to shoulder with sinners is the point. It is the deepest and most puzzling truth of Christianity. God the Son identifying with us sinners.”
Then the bishop told a story about a time when Cardinal George came to Mundelein Seminary to speak to the seminarians. He said the cardinal complimented them for their devotion to the Church’s moral teaching saying, “Good for you that you stand for these teachings and defend them. However, if all you do is drop that truth on people and walk away, you’re not a priest. Rather, you must announce the truth and then stand with your people and help them to bear the burden.”
Bishop Barron said that the cardinal got that idea “from God himself who sets the moral norm and calls us to a life of grace and moral excellence. Then, in Christ, that same God comes to stand with us to bear our burdens. He comes down and joins us sinners and sets the tone for the whole of his ministry.”
There is so much we can take away from this teaching, but I’d like to consider what it means for us in our professional lives. That is, how can Jesus standing in the muddy waters of the Jordan, shoulder to shoulder with sinners, offer us an example for leadership in our workplaces. I’d like to focus on two ways—how, by standing shoulder to shoulder with them, we should identify with those we serve, and with those with whom we work.
Identifying with Those We Serve
This week, I needed to take my car in to be serviced. I’d been putting it off because it is usually not a pleasant experience. But since there was a new Christian Brothers Automotive that opened near me, I decided to take my car there because I had interviewed their CEO, Mark Carr, and written an article about him for TwoTen Magazine. My article was titled “A Light in the Automotive Repair Industry” and I hoped they’d live up to their reputation and they did.
What is it that makes Christian Brothers Automotive different? From the attractive and comfortable waiting room to the cleanliness of the repair shop itself, you can see a difference when you walk in the door. But their reputation is built on much more than that. It is their commitment to treating others the way they wanted to be treated. When I interviewed Mark Carr, he said, “I made a list of 20 things people hate about getting their car fixed and I determined how I could solve every one of those problems. We looked at service from the customer’s perspective and treated them the way we would want to be treated.” They have created a successful model for automotive repair that is built on Christ’s principle of loving one another as you love yourself.
However, their pleasant work environment and friendly and efficient customer communication system didn’t take the sting out of a multi-thousand-dollar repair estimate for our vehicle. But Christian Brothers understood how a large car repair bill can put a big dent in a family’s budget. They offered options for repairs that should be done immediately and suggested the ones that could be delayed. But for us, the cost of the repairs and maintenance outweighed the value of our 14-year-old car, so we opted to trade it in and buy a new one. In spite of this, Christian Brothers didn’t charge us for the diagnostics, and they left a cold bottle of water in the car with a note thanking us for our business.
Our experience at Christian Brothers was terrific and even though they did not get our business this time, we’ll be going back there for all our future repair needs. And we’re not the only ones. According to the 2019 J.D. Power survey, Christian Brothers Automotive is rated number one in customer satisfaction. The car care franchise sets the standard for a superior customer experience, and I can testify to that.
Identifying with Those with Whom We Work
One of the reasons Christian Brothers Automotive gets these rave reviews is because they not only treat customers how they want to be treated, but they begin by extending that philosophy to their employees. They broke the mold of automotive repair businesses by being closed on weekends so their employees can spend time with their families. Mark Carr explained. “We value family, and it is important to support our employees. We do whatever we can by offering our customers rides to and from work so that we limit the inconvenience of being closed on weekends. Our customers understand these values which is why the business has been successful in spite of limiting hours of operation to Monday through Friday.”
Shoulder to Shoulder in the Trenches
From the beginning, Christian Brothers Automotive followed this simple principle of treating others as you want to be treated which is also extended to their franchisees and is reflected in their unique franchise partnership model. I spoke with Josh Wall, VP of Franchise Development who was responsible for guiding families through the franchise development process and Josh explained how Christian Brothers cares for its franchisees.
When I spoke to Mark Carr, they had has 130 stores in 18 states and not a single store had closed. Today, several years later, Christian Brothers Automotive has 218 stores and what is more remarkable is that in over 24 years of franchising, they still have never closed a location.
This success is due to an intentional process of selecting new franchisees. Josh Wall explained. “Our franchisees are the lifeblood of our business. We spend time trying to determine who they are, what is important to them, what they are trying to achieve, and see if the answers to those basic questions line up with where we want our ideal franchise partners to be. At their core, they need to love and serve Jesus Christ and treat others as they want to be treated.”
Treating Others the Way You Want to Be Treated
Treating others the way you want to be treated is a function of empathy, of putting yourself in other people’s shoes, of being shoulder to shoulder with them in their muddy waters. And then, just as Mark Carr made of list of the things people hate about getting their car repaired, it is a function of understanding their burdens and how you can help lighten their load.
I’m sure that there might be more profitable models for operating a car repair franchise, but I’m also sure that profitability alone is not the measure by which Christian Brothers Automotive defines success. As the Prophet Isaiah said in our first reading, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.” (Is 55:8), Christian Brothers doesn’t follow the ways of other automotive repair franchises or other franchise businesses for that matter. But given their record of success, it makes me wonder why other franchise businesses, or businesses in general, don’t follow the ways of Christian Brothers Automotive and treat others the way they want to be treated.
Well Pleased
One final thought: After standing shoulder to shoulder with sinners who were seeking a baptism of repentance, Jesus “was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’” (Mk 1:9-11) It was the Father’s testimony that he was “well pleased” with his beloved Son.
We are challenged on a daily basis to consider who we are trying to please—ourselves, others, or God. We often think that we can’t succeed in business if we try to please God first. That isn’t Mark Carr’s attitude. He told me that he was always sensitive to the fact that Christian Brothers Automotive was God’s business, not his. He said, “This business isn’t about me. However many stores He wants me to open, I will. If He wants me to open 500 stores, I will. If He wants me to stop next week, I am good with that too. I am His to do whatever He wants to do with me.”
Let’s ask Jesus, who stands shoulder to shoulder with us as we are confronted with the choice between our ways and his ways, between our will and his, to help us choose a life that is pleasing to God. Let’s pray.
Jesus, who 2,000 years ago walked this earth and still walks with us today, help us to live as you did, not according to the ways of the world, but according to the will of your Father. May our thoughts be aligned with your thoughts and our desires be your desires, so that in all that we do, we may glorify you by our lives.
May God bless you abundantly this week and at work or at home may you always glorify the Lord by your life.
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