You Duped Me, O Lord

Aug. 30, 2026

In our second reading today we meet Jeremiah, who is known as the Reluctant Prophet. God has given Jeremiah an impossible task. He said I am going to send to you a stiff-necked people. They will not listen to you. They will mock you and abuse you, and you will experience much suffering and sorrow. After spending some time prophesying in this way, and experiencing great pain and failure, he complains to God.
   
“You have duped me, O Lord, and I let myself be duped.” God’s word is like a great fire in his belly, and he cannot not speak out about the sins of Israel. “I say to myself, I will not mention Him. I will speak in His name no more. But then it becomes like a fire in my heart. I cannot endure it.”

Sometimes obeying God is very difficult. It will isolate us from the people around us, including family and friends. We may face opposition and isolation. And yet we are called to faithfulness, even in these difficulties.
—Fr. Mike Comer