On Success vs. Faithfulness: Juxtaposing some Holy Peoples' Words

Good God, how this all speaks to me! Henri Nouwen, Some apostle writing to the Hebrews, and Luke in his Gospel.

Let this be my own kind of Gospel. Yes, the Gospel according to Melissa.

The Gospel According to Melissa's wondering and wandering spirit, questioning and desiring heart:

What is success? What is faith? How is a faithful life measured? What evidence do we require to know we are on the right path? What are we responsible for? What aren't we responsible for? How can we tell the difference? How do we discern our path? How does evolution of our hearts and spirits, souls happen? Is evolution something anyone else thinks about as they choose relationships, as they love? What does Henri know about the transformational power of love? What did he experience in his lifetime? How did Jesus' apostles get burned and grow? How am I like them? How am I like Abraham? How are we all Abraham and the Apostles, ancestors incarnated, wondering and wanting and awakening ourselves to Love?

Hmmm.....

The following is a Fr. Henri Nouwen passage that arrived in my email in-box this morning, juxtaposed with some of yesterday's scripture readings.

I underlined the parts of the Letter to the Hebrews and Luke's Gospel that tickled something inside me.

Maybe they will speak to you. Do respond if something speaks to you!

Love,

Melissa
........................................

Trusting in the Fruits
We belong to a generation that wants to see the results of our work. We want to be productive and see with our own eyes what we have made. But that is not the way of God's Kingdom. Often our witness for God does not lead to tangible results. Jesus himself died as a failure on a cross. There was no success there to be proud of. Still, the fruitfulness of Jesus' life is beyond any human measure. As faithful witnesses of Jesus we have to trust that our lives too will be fruitful, even though we cannot see their fruit. The fruit of our lives may be visible only to those who live after us. What is important is how well we love. God will make our love fruitful, whether we see that fruitfulness or not. -- Fr. Henri Nouwen

Reading II

Heb 11:1-2, 8-19 or 11:1-2, 8-12

Brothers and sisters:

Faith is the realization of what is hoped for

and evidence of things not seen.

Because of it the ancients were well attested.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place

that he was to receive as an inheritance;

he went out, not knowing where he was to go.

By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country,

dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise;

for he was looking forward to the city with foundations,

whose architect and maker is God.

By faith he received power to generate,

even though he was past the normal age

—and Sarah herself was sterile—

for he thought that the one who had made the promise was

trustworthy.

So it was that there came forth from one man,

himself as good as dead,

descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky

and as countless as the sands on the seashore.

Gospel

Lk 12:32-48 or 12:35-40

Jesus said to his disciples:

"Do not be afraid any longer, little flock,

for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.

Sell your belongings and give alms.

Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out,

an inexhaustible treasure in heaven

that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.

For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

"Gird your loins and light your lamps

and be like servants who await their master's return from a wedding,

ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.

Blessed are those servants

whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.

Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself,

have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.

And should he come in the second or third watch

and find them prepared in this way,

blessed are those servants.

Be sure of this:

if the master of the house had known the hour

when the thief was coming,

he would not have let his house be broken into.

You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect,

the Son of Man will come."

Then Peter said,

"Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?"

And the Lord replied,

"Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward

whom the master will put in charge of his servants

to distribute the food allowance at the proper time?

Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.

Truly, I say to you, the master will put the servant

in charge of all his property.

But if that servant says to himself,

'My master is delayed in coming,'

and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants,

to eat and drink and get drunk,

then that servant's master will come

on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour

and will punish the servant severely

and assign him a place with the unfaithful.

That servant who knew his master's will

but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will

shall be beaten severely;

and the servant who was ignorant of his master's will

but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating

shall be beaten only lightly.

Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,

and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more."