Nevertheless, in doing so Jeremiah discovered that preaching the word of God brought him not acceptance and adulation but rather reproach, insult and derision. God’s gift of fire burning in his heart gave him the strength to proclaim God’s word despite the cost.
Jesus, to save us and reconcile us to the Father, desired with all his heart to give his life for us as a sacrifice on the cross. Jesus ‘for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame.’ He knew that carrying out the will of the Father would inevitably bring him suffering and death: ‘the Son of man will be delivered… to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified’. That is why when Peter attempted to persuade him not to do the Father’s will and to avoid suffering and death, Jesus sternly rebuked him: ‘You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men’. Jesus was willing to pay the full cost: In the courage and power of the Spirit he endured all his sufferings ‘with loud cries and tears’.
Jesus knows that following him will inevitably cause us suffering: ‘if any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me’. We have to subdue our independence and self-will to do God’s will. This is costly because it means letting go of what we would prefer to do. If we do God’s will, then Jesus promises that he will reward us: ‘he will repay every man for what he has done’. This hope gives us the grace and strength not to count the cost. It also sustains us.
‘Teach us, good Lord, to serve you as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labour and to ask for no reward, save that of knowing that we do your will.’ (St. Ignatius Loyola)
