Insult (חֶרְפָּה ḥerpâ)

Insult (חֶרְפָּה ḥerpâ), in Hebrew this noun comes from the verb ḥrp, which means “to insult”, “torment”, or “disregard”, and it is the opposite of the verb kbd, which means “to be recognized, honored”. Note that the basic meaning of the root ḥrp is “to be sharp, cutting”. The final sense of the noun חֶרְפָּה (ḥerpâ) is given by the context in which it occurs, hence it can have different kinds of basic meaning: “insult”, “ridicule”, “disgrace”.
The first reading of today’s Liturgy (Jer 20:7-9) presents the Prophet Jeremiah experiencing “slander, reproach” (חֶרְפָּה ḥerpâ) and “ridicule, ridicule” (קֶלֶס qeles) because of the Word of the Lord he preaches. Jeremiah wants to get rid of this situation, so he decides to stop speaking in the Name of the Lord: “But then – as he says – my heart became like a raging fire, enclosed within my bones. And I became weary of continuing to bear it” (v. 9). Finally, Jeremiah remarks that: “But the Lord is with me, like a strong warrior; for this reason, those who persecute me will fall, and they will be ineffective” (v. 11) and he adds that they will be significantly confounded. It is necessary to recall the beginning of the reading, in which Jeremiah confesses: “You have led me away, O Lord, and I have been led away. You have been stronger than I, and you have prevailed”, and therefore, finally, the prophet places everything in the hands of the Lord who is the “Almighty One”.
In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus is in a similar situation to Jeremiah (Mt 16:21-27). Aware of the suffering that will occur to Him at the hands of “the elders, the leaders of priests and scribes,” he shares his situation with His disciples. Peter’s reaction reveals his completely human mindset and, like Jeremiah, his desire to avoid insults and suffering. Jesus, on the other hand, definitely sees this as a “hinder”, because Peter does not think in God’s way, but in human terms.
We also experience similar situations that hurt us, and perhaps our first impulse would be to run away from them, but not all problems are solvable. They are often an experience for us to go through, and then our power can only be the power of God and reasonable service to God. This does not mean that we should expose ourselves to suffering, on the contrary, we need God’s power, not human one, therefore, as Paul says in today’s second reading, we cannot imitate this world, but, like Jeremiah and Peter, we need a transformation and renewing our minds so that we may be in that “what is good, and what is well-pleasing, and what is perfect” (Rom 12:2).