Hank Williams, Mother Teresa and Jesus Christ

By REV. JOHN YANAS- | Comments: 0 | Leave a comment

Southerners revere the memory of the late Hank Williams (1923-53), arguably the greatest country-western entertainer of the last century. His career was tragically cut short by a premature death at the age of 30. Sixty-plus years later, Williams' name is still one of the most recognizable in many areas of our country. His hard-earned fame has stood the test of time.

After his death, a close friend of the artist remarked that Williams had been very ambitious early in his career. His sole objective was to reach the pinnacle of the country music world.

In the competitive world of music, his efforts paid off. He reached the top rung of the ladder. But, when he got there, he made a shocking discovery: There was nothing there, only a void.

Isolated in his fame, Williams realized that everything he truly desired and wanted in life was back from whence he came. His simple country roots afforded him more joy and meaning than the illusory fame of a celebrity.

The prospect of material success can be alluring for a young person. Hank Williams learned a painful lesson: Success is no guarantee of unending joy or deep satisfaction in life.

Today, students are told that the whole point of education is to prepare them for a successful career. "Nothing succeeds like success" is a well-known proverb. In our society, the measure of success can be summed up in three words: wealth, power and fame.

Yet, worldly success can never do what it promises. In the words of Dr. Donald DeMarco, a Catholic writer and philosophy professor emeritus at St. Jerome's University in Ontario, Canada, success "flatters our ego, arouses our greed, awakens our expectations, but fails to satisfy our deeper, more human needs."

I believe the most successful man who ever lived was Jesus of Nazareth. But by secular standards, Jesus' life was a failure! He was abandoned by His disciples and friends, abused by a mob, tormented by His captors and executed among thieves. He died a shameful death on the cross, a fate reserved for slaves and other outcasts.

Nevertheless, Jesus inspired countless others to live their lives in imitation of His love. "This is my commandment: that you love one another as I have loved you" (Jn 15:34), Jesus declared. He made it abundantly clear that, if love is not the center of our life, we can't choose anything but loneliness, frustration and sadness.

The realism and magic of love are convincingly expressed in its successful healing of broken lives and in the infectious joy it brings to those who live by it. That was one of Jesus' legacies -- and an admirable one for us in the 21st century.

St. Teresa of Kolkata was once asked by a journalist if she considered herself a failure as a missionary of Christ, because she had very few converts to show for all her labors. "But I am not called to be successful," Mother Teresa protested, "only faithful."

By the yardstick of the secular world, she was a dismal failure, because the unbelieving world thinks only in terms of numbers and statistics. Those are hardly the barometer of a beautiful soul. By the standard of the Gospel of love incarnated by Christ, Mother Teresa was an exemplary witness of the love of Jesus for all people, regardless of their color or creed.

That is all that truly matters.

(Father Yanas is pastor of Sacred Heart parish in Troy.)[[In-content Ad]]