Commentary
Sunday, 8/30/2020, Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
God Is Stronger Than Our Problems
First Reading Commentary, Jeremiah 20:7-9
Have you ever been so overwhelmed by problems that you felt that God was not with you? Worse yet, have you ever felt that God caused your problems or put you into the situation that you are in? Jeremiah felt that God had put him into the situation that he was in and Jeremiah felt that he had allowed the whole thing to happen.
Jeremiah had been imprisoned because of his prophecies and for preaching the LORD’s Word. And so, Jeremiah felt that he had been duped by the LORD and that the reticule that he was subjected to was caused by the LORD. All of this made Jeremiah become angry with the LORD. Such was the intensity of Jeremiah’s anger that he decided that he would not even mention the LORD’s name anymore.
Sometimes, when we encounter problems in life, we become angry with God for allowing us to have such terrible experiences. Maybe, our experience is the loss of a loved one. Or, maybe our situation is a financial problem. Whatever the matter, sometimes, we become angry with God and blame Him for it.
But God does not bring harm to us. Sometimes our problems are nothing more than our individual cross to bear in life. We feel like the weight of the world is on our shoulders but in reality, such a situation is an opportunity to reach out to God for help. Such situations are opportunities for us to learn that God is always there for us. Maybe that is why they say, “That which does not kill you will only make you stronger.”
Often times, we harm ourselves with the mistakes that we make in life and the sins that we commit. We forget or ignore the fact that those problems are the result of our own doing. Sin is at the root of our problems—not God.
It is when we experience hard times that we really need to rely on our faith and reach out to God. It is during these times that we need to beware of the devil who is using our troubles to distract us from God’s love. This is what was happening to Jeremiah which is why he said that the LORD had duped him and that he would no longer mention the LORD’s name.
But then Jeremiah said, “But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it.” What Jeremiah meant was that the LORD was so deep inside of him that he could not resist. Evil may have been at work in him and all around him but the LORD was stronger and because Jeremiah still had his faith, he could not resist the LORD.
Jeremiah teaches us that God, our Creator, is faithful to us and, because of His love for us, is always there to protect us in the midst of our troubles no matter how difficult they may be. Jeremiah also teaches us that in order to receive God’s protection, we have to accept our cross in life and we have to call out to God with persistence and in faith.
Give All of Yourself
Second Reading Commentary, Romans 12:1-2
In this part of Paul’s letter to the Romans, he is telling us to give all of ourselves to God. In a sense, Paul is telling us to obey the First Commandment. But Paul’s message is deeper than that.
God not only created us but God has given all of Himself to us. All that is good comes from God and the very things that exist within us which encourage us to do good are the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, God is within us.
The devil is hard at work constantly tempting us with his evilness. I have commented before that we cannot even turn on the radio or TV without being subjected to the devil’s temptations. The technology of today bring the devil’s temptations to us at a much more rapid pace but outside of that, things were no different in Paul’s time. The devil has always found a way and has always been very good at keeping his evil temptations in our face.
This is why Paul said, “Do not conform yourselves to this age…” Paul is telling us not to give into the devil’s lies. He is telling us to beware of things like society’s willingness to favor such things as abortion. God never changed His law, “Thou shall not kill.”
Instead, Paul says, “…be transformed by the renewal of your mind…” This is where the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit live within us. It is our conscience which makes it possible for us to discern what, is the will of God. It is the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit that tell us what is good and pleasing and perfect to God. Today, Paul is telling us to use those gifts and fruits and to give all of ourselves in the process.
Even the Rock Was Attacked & We Must Carry Our Cross
Gospel Commentary, Matthew 16:21-27
Jesus began to tell the disciples that He had to go to Jerusalem to suffer at the hands of the elders, scribes and chief priests. Peter took Jesus aside to rebuke Him. This was because he could not see Jesus having to suffer and die. But Jesus said, “Get behind me Satin! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”
The devil will use anything and everything against us. He will take good things and turn them around against us. Here, the devil used Peter’s faith in Jesus and love for Jesus against him. The devil created doubt in Peter’s mind so that Peter would not accept the idea that Christ would suffer and die. This presented a problem for Peter as well as a problem for us is because if Christ did not suffer and die, He could not have been resurrected. And, if Christ did not rise up from the dead, we would not be able to enter into heaven.
Not wanting to see someone we love, suffer and die is a normal reaction and a good thing. But if the devil could use Peter's love for Jesus against him and lead Peter into doubt, then he will do the same to us and he does.
Remember, this event takes place immediately after Jesus had made Peter the Rock of His Church. The devil wasted no time attacking the Rock of the New Covenant and Christ’s Church. When you read this in the gospel, it sounds like Jesus was chastising the very person who He had just made the Rock of the Church. Indeed, Jesus was cautioning Peter against thinking in human terms when it comes to faith. But in reality, Jesus protected Peter by saying, “Get behind me Satin.”
Every time that we say, “In the name of Jesus, get behind me Satin," Jesus protects us. All of us are constantly under attack by the devil and we can use all of the protection that we can get. That is why rarely, does a day go by that I don’t say, "Get behind me Satin" at least once. Amen.
Jesus said, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Jesus also told us this in Luke 9:23-24. What does it mean to deny ourselves? It simply means that we accept the fact that we are not the center of existence. Life is not about us. It is about the One who gave life to us. Therefore, God is the center of existence. Our desire to be with God in the Kingdom is what should be our biggest priority. We get to the Kingdom by following the Son and therefore, He should be most important in our lives.
We must deny ourselves in order to have Christ as the most important thing in our lives. The trials and tribulations of daily life and the sufferings of bad times make up our crosses. In order to follow Christ, we have to endure the hardship of carrying our cross just as Jesus carried a cross. Jesus carried a cross to prepare our place in heaven and we must carry a cross to get there.
In this gospel, Jesus is not talking about becoming martyrs. Jesus is reminding us once again that nothing of this world can compare to eternal life in heaven. Likewise, everything of this world put together is not worth having in exchange for our reward of eternal life in heaven.
I think that the question that Jesus asked, “What can we give in exchange for our lives?” says it all. Nothing on earth, tangible or intangible, is worth more than our eternal life in heaven. That is why we have to deny ourselves and carry our crosses in order to follow Christ.
