God called Jeremiah to mission, told him of sufferings, and promised him help. When we read the whole story of Jeremiah we find him responding to God's mission with a refusal and excuse: he was too young.

The story of Jeremiah's suffering is similar to that of another great prophet, John the Baptist. John was fearless. A voice in the wilderness, he was ready to speak out when nobody dared to utter a word, prepared even to die for God's sake.

In baptism, we are called to become prophets, to speak the message of God to all people, for it is God's free and loving choice that the Gospel will not succeed without our cooperation and involvement. Very often we are afraid of this responsibility, and make may excuses - we are too young and inexperienced, not yet fit or qualified for the task. Many opportunities to serve God are lost because of such fear. We should rather listen to God's encouragement not to be afraid. We should be consoled by the promise of divine grace.