Bonhoeffer: on success and failure

Saturday, July 25, 2015
    Feast of James the Apostle
Meditation:
    Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
    Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?”
    —Luke 12:13-14 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The figure of the Crucified invalidates all thought which takes success for its standard. Such thought is a denial of eternal justice. Neither the triumph of the successful nor the bitter hatred which the successful arouse in the hearts of the unsuccessful can ultimately overcome the world. Jesus is certainly no apologist for the successful men in history, but neither does He head the insurrection of shipwrecked existences against their successful rivals. He is not concerned with success or failure but with the willing acceptance of God’s judgement. Only in this judgement is there reconciliation with God and among men.
    ... Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945), Ethics, tr. Reinhard Krauss, Charles C. West, Douglas W. Stott, Fortress Press, 2005, reprint, Simon and Schuster, 2012, p. 78 (see the book)
    See also Luke 12:13-14; Ex. 20:17; Eze. 33:31; Luke 1:53; 12:15-21; Rom. 5:10-11; 2 Cor. 5:18-19; 1 Tim. 6:3-6
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, make me careful only to do Your will. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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