Scripture:
Philippians 2:12-18
Luke 14:25-33
Reflection:
My anthropology teacher in college, Dr. Warren Roth, was skilled at expanding my narrow ways of thinking. In one class, instead of profiling the culture of a tribe in tropical Africa or New Guinea, he helped us outline the characteristics of our American culture.
What still stands out from that discussion is how different we Americans value time, effort, and material well-being compared to many other cultures around the globe. From an early age, a majority of Americans are taught to not waste time, to work hard to achieve “success,” and to savor possessions (including our financial portfolios), and comforts.
A well-respected American is one who assumes time is money and who works overtime to make a business/practice/you-name-the-work productive and lucrative. The same American is expected to balance this effort with marriage, family, social life, civic engagement, and a compartmentalized time called vacation.
Dining with a tour group recently, I sat next to a woman who had spent her life developing respect and wealth in the real estate profession. As she enjoyed her meal, she raised a glass of wine in self-satisfaction and said, “I deserve this!” Perhaps she felt she had attained what most Americans assume is happiness.
The challenging readings today can afford us an opportunity to expand our narrow assumptions about daily living. What do we value? Where do we invest time? What gets us out of bed in the morning?
In the Gospel, Jesus is telling us to go for the best in life. More money? A car with more bells and whistles? A bigger home in a gated community? A more exotic vacation? The latest tech gadget?
No, Jesus is telling us that if we are too attached to these things, we’re missing the best life has to offer- to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
This invitation to discipleship requires accepting one’s own cross and getting on the same path as the prophetic Messiah. In the words of scripture scholar Luke Timothy Johnson, “. . . the call of God issued by the prophet must relativize all other claims on life.”
There could not be a more challenging way to live in our American culture. In prayerful reflection on today’s readings, we may be inspired to reevaluate the routines and direction of our lives in fresh ways. Where do I invest time, money, energy, and my passions?
Do I value time alone with Jesus, listening to him, enjoying his company? Do I see Jesus in my family members, my co-workers, my next door neighbors, the beggar at the street corner? Do I speak up against words of hate aimed at immigrants, refugees, prisoners, the poor? Do I voice opposition when a racist, homophobic, sexist, or xenophobic slur is spouted in conversations?
Do I let policymakers know the immorality of capital punishment, possessing nuclear weapons, homelessness, and the destruction of our common home, Mother Earth?
We are called, not to look after our own interests, but to respond whole heartedly to the call from Jesus, the Christ. As Johnson says, “. . .(excuses) reveal an entanglement in one’s own possessions and relationships that closes one . . . to the prophetic imperative.”
In his message to the Philippians, St Paul tells us, “Do everything without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world, as you hold on to the word of life, so that my boast for the day of Christ may be that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.”
This is a way to live that surely expands our narrow concepts of success. It is an expansion I am sure my anthropology teacher would approve.
Jim Wayne is a board member of the Passionist Solidarity Network (PSN), and author of The Unfinished Man. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky.