Jer 20:7-9; Ps 62; Rom 12:1-2; Mt 16:21-27
Jeremiah, probably before 600 BC, and so before the exile, criticised Israel for worshipping other gods. So Pashtur, the chief priest, beat Jeremiah and put him in the stocks. Next day, when he was released, Jeremiah told Pashtur that he would go to Babylon, where he and all his friends would die. Jeremiah then continued with this lament that God had misled him, because he had to suffer so much on the Lord’s behalf, and had begun to wonder – or doubt – whether his call from God was real.
After marvelling last week at the impossibility of understanding God’s plans, Paul goes on to encourage the Romans to “let your behaviour change”. Like Jeremiah, they must “not be conformed to this world”, but be “transformed by the renewal of your mind”, discovering and doing the will of God.
In Matthew’s gospel Jesus starts to instruct the disciples how he is to suffer, in accordance with God’s will. Peter objects, but Jesus turns on Peter with similar words he used to Satan after his Baptism. Poor Peter! He has just been given the power to bind and loose, but now he is told he is not on God’s side, but is thinking like the world!
Psalm Response: My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
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