Roger Clemens was perhaps the most dominant pitcher baseball had seen during his years playing with the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. Based solely on his statistics, Clemens would have been in Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame years ago. His numbers are absolutely unquestioned. But not only is he not among baseball’s heavenly elite, he is generally disliked and mistrusted by the public. By the court that counts the most in baseball…the court of public opinion. Clemens was implicated in 2007 in the Mitchell Report. An investigation into the use of anabolic steroids in baseball. Players such as Barry Bonds, Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa have likewise not seen the inside of the Hall due to their connections with steroids. Clemens was implicated by his trainer stating that he had injected the pitcher multiple times with the illegal drug. Clemens has steadily denied the accusations over the years.
During the same period, Andy Pettitte also pitched for the Yankees. While an excellent pitcher with great numbers, he was no Roger Clemens. And likely not Hall of Fame material. But Pettitte was likewise implicated in the 2007 Mitchell report for having used steroids, injected by the same trainer as Clemens, in 2002 to treat an elbow injury. However, unlike Clemens, once his name became associated with steroid use, Pettitte immediately came clean. He admitted using the drug and apologized to fans. For the most part, he was given a pass and has been treated in a positive way by the baseball community.
Why the difference? In a 2018 article by Jimmy Scroggins on the Ethics and Religious Liberty website, the author gives four considerations of how a leader should be respond when they make a mistake that adversely affects others:
- Take ownership of the failure. Don’t make excuses for your actions.
- don’t negotiate the consequences. Whatever the outcome, accept them and move on. I submit Martha Stewart here as an example.
- Don’t critique the behavior of the person(s) who suffered as a result of your actions.
- “I’m sorry.” “I was wrong.” “Forgive me.”
I recently went on a motorcycle ride with a friend and we came up to a challenging creek crossing. I fell once getting across. My friend did not fall. Me jealous?! Of course! I HAD to try again to prove I could do it without falling. Just like he did. The result? Fell in the creek two more times, flooded out the motorcycle with water. Killed the battery. Had to ride double to find jumper cables. Got the bike running but in the process of my friend trying to get back across the creek, he fell and drowned out his expensive Bluetooth communication device. Never would have happened if I just accepted the initial result of the first crossing. While my friend said it was his fault because it was his decision to ride back across to help me, I knew better. My behavior caused his suffering. I apologized and replaced his damaged equipment. While I know I did the right thing, my guess it will take some convincing to get him to ride with me again. Consequences.
In today’s first reading, Isiah has a vision of an audience with God in heaven. He exclaims that he is doomed because he is surrounded by sinful people in Israel and he laments of his own sinfulness. How can he do God’s will while still a sinful man. But he cries out to God admitting his sinful state causing angels to touch a burning ember to his lips thus purging him of his sinful nature. When God wonders aloud who He should send to prophecy to His people, Isiah immediately calls out, “Here I am” “Send me”
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!”
We are all sinners. If that were not true we would not need a redeemer. Someone we can call on regardless of what we do or how often we do it. But the key is sincere repentance. Andy Pettitte saw the effect of coming clean. Of publicly proclaiming guilt and asking for understanding. Isiah saw it in his vision. Sincere repentance leads to forgiveness. Which leads to a clean spirit. Which leads to a reuniting with God and the ability to follow His will. Jesus’ sacrifice and gift to us, allows us to be reunited to Him in Confession. To Reconcile. We just need to be honest with the Lord about what we have done and who we are…a sinner. We don’t have to pitch life’s perfect game to earn our place into the only Hall of Fame that really counts.
