Word to the Wise
Friday, February 17, 2012 - Friday in the 6th Week in Ordinary Time
[Jas 2:14-24, 26 and Mark 8:34-9:1]Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?
What is the meaning of "success?" Oh, that makes for interesting retreat material and cocktail party conversation! Who is a "successful person?" The cautious person will say, "That depends......" or "Relative to what.......?" Material success? Spiritual success? I call this "destruction by distinction!" The Gospel of Mark, in its characteristic way, brushes these distinctions aside. The successful person is the one who turns away from self preoccupation and follows the path of Jesus carrying a cross! That is definitely not the notion of "success" that I see in the pages of the New York Times or The Wall Street Journal! The principal symbol of Christian faith is a cross, not a Rolex watch or a Vuitton handbag! Is "success" to be measured in terms not of physical and material possessions but in terms of how much "power" a person has? The crucifix shows the most powerful person in the universe or elsewhere in a position of powerlessness! Recently a prominent political candidate asked out loud why his opponents were criticizing him for being "successful!" The kind of success he was referring to is really more the gospel of prosperity than success as our faith should define it.
I live in Houston, TX, which has some of the best health care institutions in the world. Rich and poor alike come for treatment. The most recent scientific advances in health care are available, especially to the wealthy. Yet, no matter what the material resources of the patient or hospital may be, often they are not sufficient to save a life. This can shift the perspective of "success" considerably. Is "success" merely staying alive no matter what? Although the church is reflecting primarily on the Gospel of Mark in this liturgical year, I would recommend today reading the parable of the Rich Man and his Harvest in Luke 12:16-21. Here, God's term for the man who thought of success in terms of more barns for bigger harvest is, "You Fool!" Perhaps the most "successful" thing we can do is to change what we mean by "success!" AMEN