Against Hope

Jeremiah speaks to the Lord in agony, “Pay attention to me, O, Lord...Must good be repaid with evil?” In today’s first reading (Jer 18:18-20), the people of Jerusalem plot Jeremiah’s death - so hard were their hearts to the word of God from the prophet. I felt agony in Jeremiah’s prayer, “Remember that I stood before you to speak!” It raised for me the age old question: shouldn’t those who try to follow God with their whole hearts experience less suffering? Isn’t it supposed to be our experience that when we do good, we will be rewarded with good things and then those who do evil find the fruit of that labor rotten? It’s the common thought of the world. I was driving past a billboard for a Christian church in which the pastor, wearing a beautiful suit, crossed his arm across his chest to clutch the hand of his well-dressed wife. The man’s exposed hand was covered in rings, his wrist adorned with an expensive looking watch. Honestly, I don’t know the pastor or his wife or how close they are to God. But the picture for me showed a high degree of wealth as the sign they were doing God’s will. God had rewarded them. And then we have Jeremiah, who no one would say went against God, but was murdered in poverty for doing God’s will. I read the words of the first reading today and heard the cries of so many over the ages who wonder why bad things sometimes happen to good people. Indeed, I had the same bitter question when my then-newborn daughter was entered into surgery and later cancer treatment. I said to God, “How could this happen to me? I thought I was trying to do your will, working in ministry and regularly attending the sacraments!” Sometimes the Lord doesn’t seem to answer, but on this day He did. He said, “So someone else deserves this?” And I realized no one deserves it, whether they seem to be performing well or not. “The Lord causes the sun to shine on the good and the bad, and causes the rain to fall on the just and on the unjust (Matthew 4:45).” Jeremiah’s life did not look successful on the outside. But we trust a reward came to this prophet, whom God lovingly said was dedicated before conception and was given the ability to speak even if he thought he was too young (Jer 1:5-10). It’s a mystery of Christian faith that bad things can happen and we are expected to keep our hope, even unto death. The lack of apparent success, health, wealth or anything else is not a sign that God is displeased or has left. Instead, we could use it as an opportunity to turn away from sin, trust more, to get to know Jesus better through His suffering or offer God the suffering for the salvation of other souls. I find it astounding to consider how Jesus conquered suffering, not by ending it, but by fully immersing Himself in it by His Passion. Even suffering becomes His dominion. So, we can trust that even our suffering can bring good for those who believe (Romans 8:28). In the name of Jesus, we choose hope against what seems hopeless, trusting that whether the suffering ends soon on earth or not, the reward in Heaven will far surpass it.