Duped

These past few days have been just incredible. I mean the sheer amount of rain that fell in Texas is incredible. The destruction that resulted from the flooded creeks and bayous have been incredible. And lastly, the amount of flood waters that ran through all our church buildings was incredible.

My heart goes out to all those who have lost homes, have damages and those who have lost loved ones.

I think the readings today perhaps hits too close to home.

I feel like we can all cry out like the prophet Jeremiah, “You duped me, O LORD, and I let myself be duped.” I know I kind of feel that way... I mean I arrived at St. Ignatius a little over a year ago and it’s been such a blessed year, as well as a year of great learning. And I was excited to begin my second year. I was telling someone a few weeks ago, “well this second year will be great! I know how things go now, I’ve been through Christmas and Easter, I have a schedule and a routine in place. And St. Ignatius is starting to feel like home to me. This is great… there won’t be any more real surprises…

“You duped me, O LORD, and I let myself be duped.”

In the first reading we get a glimpse of Jeremiah’s heart. If you look at what has happened to Jeremiah, you remember that God calls him to be his prophet and voice of truth. To which he replies, “I’m too young!” But God eased his fears saying, “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you.” And so Jeremiah goes out to speak the truth to Israel and it’s so hard! Because when they heard Jeremiah speaking the truth, he is beaten, mocked and arrested. And he cries out, “You duped me, O LORD…” In some translation it’s “you seduced me, O LORD, and I let myself be seduced.”

Now don’t get me wrong, God did not dupe or trick Jeremiah, but this is the experience of Jeremiah. How often is this our own experience?

We say yes to God, we decide to follow Jesus, we decide to convert and be Catholic or be confirmed. And then we are hit with suffering, tragedy, opposition, ridicule. Then we cry out to God, “I thought that if I followed you, everything would be fine. I thought that if I listened to your truth that you would take care of everything, that you would keep me from harm. And now look how I suffer! You duped me, O LORD…”

We see this in society. It is not easy to be Catholic in the world today. If you are openly Catholic, you will suffer, be ridiculed, perhaps even be beaten and arrested. And at times we can feel like saying to the Lord, “I don’t know if I can do this! I don’t want this.”

In the gospel, Jesus says, “whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” Jesus doesn’t deceive his disciples, he flat out tells him that first that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly, and then they too have to take up their crosses.

Sometimes this can seem very appalling and unattractive. You don't go around inviting others to be Christians by saying, “Hey! you should take up your cross, take up your suffering and follow me.” Yet with all that has happened in this past week and a half here in Houston, there are two things that I think that I have learned.

The first is that our cross, our suffering doesn’t need to be something we carry all by our self. We don’t have to carry our cross alone. In fact, when you share with others, when others are willing to suffer alongside with you, the crosses are manageable. I’m still amazed at the 300 volunteers that came to clear out the church offices in just a few hours in order for the contractors to come in and get working on the building.

Just yesterday, I was helping clean at a home and there was so much flood damage but with our team of 15, we got most of the cleaning done in no time. So many volunteers, so many people who were not only willing to deny themselves and take up their crosses but were willing to deny themselves and take up each other’s’ crosses!

Brothers and sisters, when we come together in solidarity and are willing to suffer for one another, we are no longer simply Christians but we are church. We truly become the Body of Christ. And as the Body of Christ we truly can bear the cross.

And that leads to the second thing I’ve learned this week. That through the cross, through the suffering, and through all of us coming together as one Body, we can see a glimpse of what Heaven is like. A place where we can see true sacrificial love all around us. A place where God pours himself out for us and we pour ourselves out for one another. It is here that we realize, that the Lord has NOT duped us.

In our suffering and times of need, we don’t need to carry our crosses alone. And if we are willing to suffer, if we are willing to sacrifice for one another, we will encounter the beautiful Glory of God.

I’ll end with this little prayer:

O my God, teach me to be generous
to serve you as you deserve to be served
to give without counting the cost
to fight without fear of being wounded
to work without seeking rest
and to spend myself without expecting any reward
but the knowledge that I am doing your holy will.
Amen

(St. Ignatius of Loyola)