If you’ve followed the faith for at least a year (probably much less), you’ve almost certainly realized that there is a tension between what society believes and what the faith teaches us to be true. The secular world celebrates death, material riches, selfishness, and “might makes right”; meanwhile, Christ taught us to honor life, spiritual treasures, selflessness, and “right makes might.”
Reflecting on today’s readings, I realized there’s another contradiction between the earthly world and the world espoused by Jesus: failure.
The secular world hates failure. We boo losers in our sporting events, we lambaste “box office bombs,” we criticize failed business ventures and those who flunk out of college.
But Christ taught us that, paradoxically, the “right” failure is instrumental in bringing about the Kingdom of God. In the eyes of those who criticized Christ right up until the cross, they saw a failure who didn’t bring back the earthly kingdom of the Jews; those critics didn’t know that his death would bring about an even greater kingdom. Throughout the ages, martyrs have died, seeming to be failures in the eyes of those who killed them . . . only to have those deaths be part of a larger effort in spreading the Word. The parable of the lost lamb, the parable of the prodigal son, the parable of the nagging woman to the judge . . . all of these show the power of God in triumphing over adversity, and in turning around our failings into bringing us closer to the Lord.
If the secular world is disdainful of failures, it’s almost universally silent on those who don’t even try. Which of these is likely to make front-page news:
- “Zappy-Eye Superhero Movie Bombs Big at Box Office” or “Studio Decides Against Making Zappy-Eye Superhero Movie”?
- “Team Loses Super Bowl” or “City Declines to Put in Bid for Football Team”?
- “HappyMegaShopMart to Close 147 Stores” or “Guy Decides Against Starting Business”?
Of course, from a logical standpoint, this makes perfect sense. The number of things we don’t do in a day is nigh-infinite, and it’d be foolish to hold us accountable for the things we didn’t even attempt. “Ha-ha! You didn’t even try to become an astronaut or a championship boxer!” It’s silly to even contemplate.
But when it comes to serving God, we are expected to try, even if we fail. Today’s Gospel selection from Mark makes this abundantly clear, with Christ’s parable of the seed sower. In the parable, most of the seed sown doesn’t find fertile soil and will fail to grow. But some will and “bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”
Jesus makes clear that the seed is the Word of God, and we’re expected to spread it far and wide. Even if most of that effort will amount to failure, it’s vital that we try, and we’d do the Kingdom a great disservice by declining to put in the effort because of a fear of failure.
Elsewhere, the Faith makes clear the consequences of failing to try. In Matthew 25, Jesus holds us accountable for failing to feed the hungry, care for the sick, or welcome strangers. When we go to Mass, we confess for what we have done, and what we have failed to do . . . in other words, what we haven’t even attempted.
I thought of this lesson today as I reflected on the first reading, from the Second Book of Samuel. In it, God gives a message to Nathan to give to David. The message is three hundred and forty-five words long. The reading ends with, “Nathan reported all these words and this entire vision to David.”
When I read that and really reflected on it, I was kind of flabbergasted. “Wait, God . . . You want me to deliver a 345-word message, seemingly verbatim?! If my wife gives me more than two things to remember at the store, I’m doomed to forget something without a written list.”
But then I realized how foolish and faithless these thoughts were. How little trust did I have in God — in the power of the Holy Spirit — to ensure I would fulfill such a mission? If God directly wanted me to pass along a message, and I had the faith, courage, and conviction to do so, then — so long as I make an earnest attempt — I couldn’t fail.
Today, I encourage you to pray and reflect on the things that you haven’t tried in the name of the Lord, for fear of failure. If you haven’t joined a ministry because you feel your abilities aren’t up to snuff, reconsider. If you haven’t answered a heartfelt call to a vocation because of feelings of inadequacy, pray some more. If you haven’t helped the poor, or fed the hungry, or cared for the downtrodden, because you fear your efforts will amount to naught, search your heart again.
If you have tried to do something to bring about God’s kingdom and the results weren’t what you wanted, I encourage you to pray and reflect on that as well. Yes, some ministries will not be the best match for you. Learn from the experience, and try something else. Yes, some downtrodden people you try to help will rebuff your efforts, or fall back on prior bad habits, but attempting to help them is what Jesus wants.
And, yes, sometimes your efforts to spread the Word will fail. But this failure is built into God’s plan, and you accomplish more in your individual “failure” than a thousand “believers” accomplish in their inactivity. The only way to truly fail in the eyes of God is to not even try.
Today’s readings: 2 Sm 7:4-17; Ps 89:4-5,27-28,29-30; Mk 4:1-20
