Jeremiah 20: 7-9|Psalm 63: 2-6, 8-9|Romans 12: 1-2|Matthew 16: 21-27
Over the past 10 days, we have witnessed, at a safe and comfortable distance, the devastation of Hurricane Harvey, which has pummeled the Houston and southeastern Texas area. Unprecedented flooding has inundated cities, suburbs, towns and small communities, leaving a path of destruction in its wake and forcing thousands upon thousands of people to flee their homes, seeking shelter and relief wherever possible. The images of suffering have been heartbreaking, with continued news coverage bearing witness to the aftermath of this natural disaster. These people are carrying their own crosses in ways that we cannot easily imagine.
However, at the same time, there have also been the images of true discipleship: people coming together in compassion and service to others. From those who ventured out into the floodwaters to rescue people, to those who traveled hundreds of miles to bring boats and other resources to aid in the effort to save the people, to others who opened their hearts and homes to those who lost everything. These are the people who follow Christ, whether or not they are formally Catholic or Christian.
Consider the story of one such individual: Jim McIngvale, better known a Mattress Mack, who owns several furniture stores in the Houston area. As the floodwaters forced people from their homes, Mattress Mack, a lifelong Catholic, successful entrepreneur and philanthropist, opened his showrooms filled with mattresses, bedroom sets, couches, recliners and other furniture, to those, whose homes were under water and needed a place to stay. Without self-promoting fanfare, he invited men, women, children, and even their pets, to stay in his stores. In turn, his generosity inspired others to help the victims there and elsewhere with additional food and clothing. In addition, he opened his stores to the many emergency responders and rescue workers so that they could rest from their long hours of labor.
Mattress Mack could have succumbed to temptation and turned away from the suffering, closing and barricading his stores, while retreating to higher ground; instead, he opened his heart and his stores to those in desperate need. He has helped others to carry their crosses, easing their great suffering and pain. His response to the media attention was simple: “I was raised as a Catholic. I continue my Catholic faith throughout my life, trying to do the right thing and hopefully, you do the right thing and help people along the way.” In a simple, yet direct way, he has offered an example of discipleship, easing the burden of others, and helping them to carry their crosses.
Today’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew reminds us that we too must have the courage to pick up our own cross and follow Christ if we are to be his disciples. Consider Our Lord’s awareness and acceptance of his own mission: “Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.” When Peter, who had just acknowledged Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God, tried to dissuade him from his mission, Christ rebuked him: “Get behind me Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” He then told his disciples: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” Discipleship requires sacrifice! It required commitment! It requires that we turn away from our own desire for comfort, ease and good fortune to serve others in the name of Christ.
Some Christians subscribe to the notion of an easy discipleship, sometimes called a “prosperity gospel” – that, if only we profess our belief in Christ, then we will receive wealth, endless prosperity, and good fortune in all measures of our earthly life and that suffering will somehow be nonexistent. It’s funny how the proponents of the “prosperity gospel” are often conspicuously absent in the midst of human suffering.
Saint Paul, in his Letter to the Romans, advised his fellow Christians: “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” By denying ourselves and living for others, we will discover a peace and joy as the burdens of our own crosses lighten as we move toward a deeper relationship with Jesus by helping to lighten the burden of the crosses of our neighbor.
Let us resolve to follow Christ, heeding his Word, partaking in the Eucharist, and offering ourselves in deed to ease the burden of others, carrying our own crosses joyfully as we seek to draw nearer to Jesus, acting as instruments of kindness and compassion in his Name.
The Marste Szmutko Project 