Jeremiah, in the first reading, gives us an insight into his suffering for preaching a difficult message to the people (Jer 20:7-9). He feels like he has been seduced by God into becoming God’s prophet:
You duped me, O Lord, and I let myself be
duped;
you were too strong for me, and you
triumphed.
Strong language! Why? He had a very difficult message to peach to the people, and they reacted very badly and punished him. The people had a false sense of security because of the temple in Jerusalem and thought nothing would ever happen to the temple or the city. But Jeremiah told them if they did not amend their behavior, the temple would end up in ruins (Jer 7:12-15) and he told them their worship in the temple was insincere. Later, he also told them they should surrender to their Babylonian enemy as it was near the city (Jer 27). Obviously, none of this went down well. Among the punishments and opposition he received at various times during his ministry were these: he was arrested, put in prison, and put into a muddy well. We see in the first reading today what he suffered for his preaching:
All the day I am an object of laughter;
everyone mocks me…
the word of the Lord has brought me
derision and reproach all the day.
(20:7-8)
Jeremiah’s words about the temple proved true. The Babylonians destroyed the city and the temple. A small group of survivors went down to Egypt against God’s wishes and Jeremiah felt he should accompany them. Literature not in the Bible tells us that when he rebuked them for their idolatry, they got angry with him and stoned him to death.
The end of the first reading shows us the struggle that was going on in Jeremiah’s heart because of all the suffering he endured for preaching God’s word. He considered giving up and not preaching any more:
I say to myself, I will not mention him,
I will speak in his name no more. (Jer
20:9)
It’s a bit shocking—considering giving up his God-given vocation, but he realized that if he did, he would not have peace:
But then it becomes like fire burning in
my heart,
imprisoned in my bones (Jer 20:9)
so he continued to preach.
Jeremiah was not the only prophet to suffer for his message. Literature not in the Bible tells us that the prophets Amos, Micah, Isaiah, and Ezekiel were also killed for their preaching and Jesus mentioned a Zechariah being killed (Matt 23:35; Luke 11:49-51). So, the negative response of many people to Jesus and he eventually being crucified is the culmination of what the prophets experienced (see Acts 7:51-53). Jesus knew this would happen to him:
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. (Matt 16:21)
Of course, at the time of that conversation, they did not understand what Jesus meant by being raised, but Peter reacted very strongly against Jesus’ words. Jesus clarified further:
Whoever wishes to come after me must deny
himself,
take up his cross, and follow me. (Matt
16:24)
In the first reading, we see Jeremiah reacting negatively to suffering for preaching God’s word and in the Gospel Peter reacted negatively to Jesus’ prediction of his own passion and death. They reacted negatively to the cross. They did not want a cross. No one wants a cross. Various spiritual writers and popes tell us that how we react to the cross we have been given is much more important than the cross that comes our way. So much has been written on this that we could spend the rest of the day listening to it, but I will share just a couple of brief remarks from recent popes. You will see that in their comments on carrying our cross, they have one thing in common: what is important is that we carry our cross with love of God.
Pope John Paul II said in a homily during Mass while visiting Loreto, Italy:
Carrying the cross, following Jesus, means being prepared to make any sacrifice for love of him. (September 5, 2004)
Pope Benedict concluded the stations of the cross on Good Friday, 2010, saying:
Grant us, Lord, to carry our cross with love, and to carry our daily crosses in the certainty that they have been enlightened by the dazzling light of Easter. (Way of the Cross, Good Friday, 2010
Jeremiah reacted negatively to suffering for preaching God’s word and Peter reacted negatively to Jesus’ prediction of his own passion and death. No one wants a cross. What matters is to continue to carry whatever cross we have with love of God.
© Fr. Tommy Lane 2026
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.
More Homilies for the Twenty-Second Sunday Year A
Peter grew to accept the cross 2011
The Christian meaning of human suffering 2008
Related: Homilies on carrying our cross and suffering
stories about our cross and division