Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19 Homily Notes
From Reading Cornelius Lapide
--Tradition sees in Jeremiah a type of Jesus Christ: 1) formed in the womb is Jesus was found in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit; 2) Jeremiah is made a prophet to the nations, just as it says of Jesus Christ in the Isaiah 51:16 "I have put my words in your mouth", etc.... or Isaiah 49:6 which says of Christ "behold I have given you as a light to the nations"
-- the "word" that happened to Jeremiah... a way of referring to all that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah for 41 years
-- "I knew you" means "I approved of you with an approbation by which I knew ahead of time and predestined you, form view, created you a man and a minister of my words".... Rom 11:2 "God hath not cast away his people, which he foreknew."
--"I sanctified you"... sanctificavi te... dealt with your original sin even while you were in the womb, as with John the Baptist, so with Jeremiah... consecrated you for my work as a holy Prophet, separated you from things profane... "from all eternity I knew you, love you, predestined you to holiness and prophetic duty"... an infusion of sanctifying grace
Other sources
-- Jeremiah's preaching spans from the reform of Josiah (622 B.C.) through the destruction of Jerusalem and Judah (587 B.C.) and the exile of many of its leaders and citizens (597 B.C., 587 B.C.)... Major upheaval of powers in the ancient near East... Assyria, Egypt, Babylon all striving for domination of the Fertile Crescent
Homily
-- God tells Jeremiah about his predestination to be a prophet to the nations. We cannot understand this to mean that Jeremiah had no choice, as if God determined it, and therefore it would have been no matter what Jeremiah himself chose in life. The Catholic Church does not understand predestination this way, as some other Christian denominations might. Jeremiah was a free individual throughout his entire life. But even from the time in his mother's womb, the Lord gave him gifts and shaped him to make him capable of a beautiful mission to guide the nation of Israel through most tumultuous times. Jeremiah starts preaching about 625 years before Jesus comes on the scene; and Jeremiah's preaching continues for some 40 years. During that time Israel gets scattered into exile, and Jerusalem with its temple is ruined. What a precious mission Jeremiah is given, both to explain to people why they are experiencing such turmoil (after leaving aside God's law), and to speak a message of hope, explaining to them that God has a plan for their good, even in the midst of the painful trials. So there is the vocation of Jeremiah.
-- Jeremiah's vocation is connected to Jesus Christ. As the Eternal Father saw Jeremiah in the womb of his mother, setting him aside for a special work ("While you were in your mother's womb, I knew you, and I consecrated you a prophet to the nations."), simultaneously the Eternal Father saw his own beloved Son who was to be found in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary some 600 years later. As Jeremiah was created to be a light to the nations, so Jesus Christ was sent from the Father to be a light to the world. The life of Jesus Christ -- especially his crucifixion on Calvary, and his resurrection -- is the center of history as the Eternal Father has seen it for all eternity. Old Testament personalities such as Jeremiah, Isaiah, Adam, Moses, Abraham are all stepping into a silhouette of Jesus Christ, formed by the light which shines back proleptically through all the Old Testament events that are meant to lead up to his appearance in the world. Calvary, from a theological perspective, compels the Old Testament vocations, guides them with its light. Calvary is what the Father has wanted to give to the world since the time of Adam and Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden. Once Calvary and the resurrection are finally reached, the New Testament vocations can begin, for the sake of continuing Calvary's effect.
-- the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Peter, St. Paul, St. John, the rest of the apostles, the Fathers of the Church, and then the Saints up until our day. These are vocation stories -- lives gifted by God to help the world through turmoil and give hope -- provided these free individuals say yes to the Father's plan for them. These are lives compelled by the love of Christ. Remember the words of St. Paul in 2Corinthians 5: "For the love of Christ compels me." These are lives built on the foundational love of Calvary. As the light of Calvary pulled forward the vocations of the Old Testament towards the ultimate revelation of God's love in the Cross... so the power of Calvary appearing over and over again on our altars in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is meant to help each one of us step into God's plan for our life.
-- Are you and I living our life as a vocation compelled by Divine Love encountered in the Eucharist? Are we teaching our children to try their best to desire what God desires for their life, knowing that what happens on this altar will give them all they need to say "yes" to Him? Marriage ought not to be lived as a default -- because it seems priesthood or religious life didn't fit. Rather, marriage should be lived as a mission empowered from the altar, a vocation with its own participation in the love of Calvary, with its own hope and vision to transform the world. [That might sound pretty lofty... but the sacrament of Matrimony and the resulting family life is packed with divine potential... and a contemplative approach to life will see it and try to live it.] Priesthood and religious life are vocations to consider... Why? Because of what God has given us in the Eucharist.
-- Young people, do you believe God has a plan for you? God probably will not write it in a notebook for you, so that you can follow it so straightfowardly. Figuring out his plan is a matter of relationship with Him. God will be attentive to the questions in your heart. He will draw near as you desire to serve him, as you show interest in learning what he would like you to do. It's like Moses before the burning bush in Exodus, chapter 3. It says there that once God saw that Moses took notice, God then drew near to speak. Be contemplative and look for God in your life. Talk to Him fervently every day. Ask him how he wants you to serve him and the rest of humanity. What is the calling he has for you.... on any given day, but overall as a specific vocation? He will give you the tools to respond to his call at the necessary moments. One writer said, "God's call, lived God's way, never lacks God's supply."
-- Here is St. Anthony Mary Claret Speaking about the sanctity that can be achieved by filling our obligations in our vocation: "Our Lord has created persons for all states in life, and in all of them we see people who have achieved sanctity by fulfilling their obligations well."
-- Here is St. Francis de Sales speaking about how a vocation must be lived out in the context of devotion (which I believe fits perfectly what I am said before about letting the love of Calvary poured out in the Eucharist be your compelling purpose): "Just as every sort of gem when cast in honey becomes brighter and more sparkling, so each person becomes more acceptable and fitting in his own vocation when he sets that vocation in the context of devotion. Through devotion to family cares become more peaceful, mutual love between husband and wife becomes more sincere, the service we owe our prince becomes more faithful, and all work, no matter what it is, becomes more pleasant and agreeable."
-- May we become more determined today than ever before to live our current vocation -- or to seek God's plan for us -- as a matter of responding to the love of Calvary compelling us in the Eucharist.
