Readings: Jeremiah 20:7-9; Psalm 63; Romans 12:1-2; Matthew 16:21-27
Grace and peace to you, my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord.
The readings of today are very loaded. There are many things we could reflect upon, but I would like us to focus on three important themes: suffering, conformity and recompense.
1. THE PLACE OF SUFFERING IN THE LIFE OF A CHRISTIAN
In the First Reading, Jeremiah begins with rather shocking words:
“You have seduced me, Lord, and I have let myself be seduced; you have overpowered me: you were the stronger.”
What does Jeremiah mean when he says that God has “seduced” him?
The Hebrew word used here, pathah, can mean to entice, persuade, allure or induce someone. Jeremiah is speaking from a place of deep emotional pain. He is not accusing God of doing something immoral. He is pouring out his frustration before God.
Remember how Jeremiah’s vocation began. Jeremiah told God that he was too young and did not know how to speak. But God called him and assured him: “Do not be afraid… for I am with you.”
Jeremiah accepted the call, but he discovered that being God’s prophet was not going to be easy.
He preached the truth, but people did not want to hear it. He warned them about their sins and the coming destruction of Jerusalem, but instead of listening to him, they mocked him. He was insulted, rejected, threatened, beaten and imprisoned.
That is why Jeremiah cries out:
“I am a daily laughing-stock, everybody’s butt.”
In other words: Lord, this is not what I expected when I answered your call.
Jeremiah even decided:
“I will not think about him, I will not speak in his name any more.”
But something happened.
“There seemed to be a fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones.”
Jeremiah could not walk away. The same God whose mission brought him suffering had placed a fire within him that would not allow him to abandon his vocation.
Dear friends, there is an important lesson here: difficulties and suffering are not necessarily signs that God has abandoned us.
Sometimes we think that if we are faithful to God, everything should go smoothly. We pray, we serve God, we try to live good lives, and then suffering comes, and we ask: Lord, after everything I have done, why is this happening to me?
Jeremiah asked that question.
Peter asked that question in another way in today’s Gospel.
Jesus told the disciples:
“The Son of Man is destined to suffer grievously… to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day.”
Peter could not understand it. In his mind, Messiah and suffering could not go together. But Jesus teaches Peter, and all of us, that there is a place for the cross in the Christian life.
We should never glorify suffering for its own sake, and where suffering can rightly be relieved, we should relieve it. But there are crosses which faithfulness to God, love, responsibility and life itself will place before us.
When these sufferings are united with Christ, they are not wasted.
Therefore Jesus says:
“If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
Whatever cross you may be carrying today, do not allow it to separate you from Christ. Carry it with Christ, God does not promise that His children will never suffer; He promises that He will never abandon us in our suffering.
2. DO NOT CONFORM TO THE WORLD
St. Paul tells us in the Second Reading:
“Do not model yourselves on the behaviour of the world around you, but let your behaviour change, modelled by your new mind.”
The Greek word St. Paul uses for “conform” is syschēmatizesthe. It carries the idea of taking on the pattern, form or outward shape of something.
In simple language, Paul is saying: Do not allow the world around you to squeeze you into its mould.
Interestingly, this is exactly what happened to Peter in the Gospel.
Jesus says to him:
“The way you think is not God’s way but man’s.”
That is the problem. Peter loved Jesus, but at that moment he was thinking according to the standards of the world rather than the mind of God.
And this question comes to us today: Who is shaping the way I think? God or the world?
Let us consider five ways of thinking that the world can easily impose upon us.
First, the way of selfishness.
The worldly question is: What is in it for me? What do I gain? How does this benefit me?
The Christian question is different: What does God want? How can I serve? How can I help?
Second, the easy way, the way of comfort.
The world often says: Choose whatever is easiest. But the easiest way is not always the right way. Christianity is not about always choosing what is comfortable; it is about choosing what is right and godly, even when it is difficult.
Third, the way of carnality and pleasure.
Our world increasingly tells us: If it feels good, do it. If you desire it, you have a right to it. But the Christian does not make pleasure the measure of morality. We ask: Is it good? Is it holy? Is it pleasing to God?
Fourth, the way of aggression and revenge.
The world says: Show them who you are. Pay them back, prove that nobody can treat you like that.
Jesus teaches another way: forgiveness, peace, patience and dialogue. Forgiveness is not weakness. Sometimes it requires far greater strength to forgive than to retaliate.
Fifth, the way of immediate benefit.
The world asks: What can I get now?
The Christian must also ask: What will this mean for eternity?
Jesus asks one of the most important questions in the whole Gospel:
“What, then, will a man gain if he wins the whole world and ruins his life?”
We need what St. Paul calls the renewal of our minds so that gradually we begin to see ourselves, other people and the whole of life through the eyes of Christ.
3. THE LORD WILL REWARD EACH ONE
Finally, Jesus says:
“The Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and, when he does, he will reward each one according to his behaviour.”
This is something we must never forget: there will be recompense.
Our choices matter, our behaviour matters, how we treat people matters.
So perhaps today we should conduct a little examination of conscience.
How do I treat the members of my family?
My parents, my children, my husband or wife, my siblings, my in-laws and members of my extended family?
Sometimes we are extremely kind to strangers and extremely difficult with the people who live with us.
How do I treat my colleagues at work or school?
Do I respect them? Do I gossip about them? Do I undermine them? Am I honest and fair?
How do I treat my spiritual family, the Church?
How do I speak about other parishioners? How do I treat those who serve and lead? Jeremiah reminds us today that sometimes those trying to fulfil God’s mission can receive wounds from the very people they are trying to serve.
And finally, how do I treat the weak, the elderly, the vulnerable and those who depend upon me or trust me?
Be very careful how you treat someone who is powerless before you.
Jesus says:
“He will reward each one according to his behaviour.”
Dear friends, the three readings therefore come together beautifully.
Jeremiah teaches us: when faithfulness brings suffering, do not give up.
St. Paul teaches us: when the world tries to shape your thinking, do not conform.
Jesus teaches us: when you make your choices and deal with others, remember that there will be recompense.
May the Lord give us strength to carry our crosses without abandoning Him. May He renew our minds so that we may reject the ways of the world and learn the ways of Christ. And may He help us to live and treat others in such a way that, when our earthly journey is ended, we may receive from Him the reward of eternal life.
Amen.
Sermon preached by Fr Emmanuel Baraka-Gukena Okami on August 30, 2026