Aug. 30, 2020: 22nd Sunday A
Aug. 30, 2020: 22nd Sunday A
A priest of Lake Charles spent the past few days at the St. George rectory, evacuating from Hurricane Laura. We had hoped that the hurricane would not cause much disruption, and then we would return to a normal routine. In less than a 24-hour period, that expectation was turned upside down for the priest from Lake Charles. He was informed that the Catholic High school where he serves as the rector sustained enormous damages. The students were scheduled to start school this coming Monday, and now with the entire facility damaged, the teachers and students are left in an uncertain future. Because of past natural disasters in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, many of us can empathize with those who are affected by Hurricane Laura. Many of those who evacuated from Southwest Louisiana are still with us, staying in a relative's homes or in hotels scattered throughout the Baton Rouge area. Many are told not to return yet because there will not be electricity or water for weeks. If we have evacuees with us today, please know that our community is praying for you. Please consider this your home away from home. Feel free to stop by the office this week and speak with us.
There are many times in our lives when we pray for the strength to surrender to the Father’s will as Jesus did. How many of us have encountered our own Garden of Gethsemane moments, anxious and afraid, asking God to take the chalice of suffering from us. It is tempting for a disciple of Jesus to hope for a smooth, suffering-free path in following Jesus. One person said, at times we wish to be part-time volunteers for the Gospel; we serve when we can as our schedule allows. Yet, Jesus’ reprimand of Peter in today’s gospel reveals that Jesus has not chosen us to be part-time volunteers.
Earlier in conversation, Jesus praised Peter for recognizing Jesus as “the Messiah, the Son of God” and appointed him as the rock on which the church would be built. Yet Peter did not understand that the Messiah was to be a Suffering Servant and not a military conqueror. Peter could not fathom that Jesus the Messiah would have to suffer, so he said, “No such thing shall ever happen to you.” Jesus then sharply reproached Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." In the moment of his fear of suffering, Peter was being used by Satan to lure Jesus away from the Cross and God’s plan. Peter’s mind was not on God’s interests, but man’s. If Peter’s mind was attuned to the things of God, he would have sought to encourage Jesus. We too are like Peter at times. We do not want the responsibility of discipleship which demands a high cost.
One of the costs of discipleship is self-denial. Our Lord said, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself.” Self denial requires humility, a contrite heart, and hunger for righteousness. Another cost of discipleship is dying to self. Our Lord said, “Whoever wishes to come after me… must take up his cross, and follow me.” In the time of Jesus, taking up a cross was the act of a condemned man bearing upon his own back the wooden beam upon which he would soon be crucified and die. Jesus suffered and died on our behalf on the Cross. What does it mean for us to carry a cross? It means embracing suffering with the help of God’s grace, depending on God more each day. As we struggle and fall, struggle and rise, we discover hidden reserves of strength and trust we’ve not experienced before. In the process, we realize that the grace to carry our cross came from our loving, merciful God. Our crosses can become opportunities to look beyond ourselves and look with compassion on another’s suffering. Embracing our cross then helps us grow closer to Jesus and become more like Jesus.
Today we left our homes and came to this beautiful church without any difficulty to worship God. Yet, the reality is that less than a couple of hundred miles west of us, our brothers and sisters in Christ cannot even get to their churches this weekend. One photo I saw of the hurricane’s aftermath was a Catholic Church in Creole, Louisiana which was half submerged in the ocean after a 15 foot storm surge engulfed it. This church had been rebuilt after Hurricane Rita in 2005. Next to the church was a mausoleum which was totally empty because the waves had washed all the caskets back to the ocean. We grieve with our brothers and sisters in the affected areas, and we need to look into our hearts and discern how we will respond to help. Our parish and the Diocese are both offering ways to offer love and compassion to our brothers and sisters in Christ.
