Psalm Reflection: The Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle C

“Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.” - Psalms 1

I was talking with my spiritual director this week and he said something that stuck with me. He said, “we have been preaching the wrong Gospel.”

We have mistakenly believed and preached the idea that the Good News of Jesus Christ is that everything in your life will get better and be great when you follow Jesus. That is simply untrue. Look no further than the story of Job in the Bible who, although he was faithful and devoted to the Lord, underwent incredible loss and hardship, none of which was the result of anything he said or did.

We have mistakenly believed the lie that, if we follow the Lord, we will be free of all burdens and suffering. Rather, the Bible tells us that if we follow the Lord, we should expect and embrace the suffering and persecution that will inevitably come:

“Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” - Matthew 5:11-12

“Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” - Luke 9:23-24

“Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.” - Luke 10:3

“Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three.” - Luke 12:51-52

“In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” - John 16:33

In these verses, Jesus never promises to remove the suffering and persecution we will experience. Rather, He compels his followers to embrace the suffering and to trust that He is with them in the midst of it. He invites us to remember that, though God does not actively cause or will any of us to suffer (Wisdom 1:13), He allows suffering out of respect for free will. In doing so, He will bring some good out of that suffering (Romans 5:3-5, Romans 8:28), but there is no guarantee that we will see, understand, or experience that good in our own lifetimes. Instead we are invited to trust that the Lord knows what He is doing, and to surrender with trust and obedience.

Suffering is part of the human experience, and without being deprived of something, we can never fully appreciate the good, true, and beautiful when we do experience it. If God immediately met and satisfied our every need, we would have no concept of the depth of joy He brings, because we would have never known a life without Him.

“God has to cultivate our hunger for Him before He supplies Himself as our food.” - Peter Kreeft

This is what Paul means when he writes, “where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more” (Romans 5:20). It is in recognizing our sins, trials, and suffering that we can encounter God in powerful and transformative ways, because He walks with us in the midst of it.

God’s love will change your life and your perspective to where you can have true and lasting joy in any circumstance. However, following the Lord will not change every circumstance of your life and make it better. There will still be trial, loss, struggle, grief, and suffering, but we will weather those seasons better because we walk through them with the Lord by our side.

The Good News is not that everything will be perfect. The Good News is that the Perfect One will be with us in everything. Following Him does not rack up spiritual points that we redeem for a good, comfortable life here on earth. Following Jesus means that we recognize there is more to life than just this life.

Place your hope in the Lord, and not what you think the Lord can do for you. He is not an ATM, or a life insurance policy. He is not a protection service that you pay into to make sure nothing bad happens to you. He is a Savior who has rescued you from sin and death so you can live with Him forever in Heaven. He guarantees that sin will still come after you and that the fallen world we live in will still be difficult, but also that you will never be alone in it.

Put away the false Gospel of prosperity, and take up the real Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is with you, no matter what comes.cLife will change and have immense difficulties, but we do not follow Jesus for comfort in this life. We follow Jesus because we know what He has promised in the next life.

Many people stop believing in God when they experience loss and suffering, or when they see evil in the world. God never promised those things would go away, only that He would redeem them and be with us in the midst of them. The Enemy wants you to turn away from God when you need Him the most. Instead, run to God, for He understands suffering better than any of us. Look no further than the cross for proof. If Jesus could endure that for you, He can help you endure anything. Cling to Him and the Good News that everything will be healed, transformed, and redeemed, it is simply a matter of when. We do not live for this life to be perfect, we live with hope and trust that the next life will be.

Do not give up hope.

He is with you.

Always.

I am praying for you, please pray for me, and I will see you in the Eucharist.

Matt

This reflection is based on the Responsorial Psalm for this Sunday, February 16th, 2025, The Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle C: Psalms 1:1-2, 3, 4 & 6.