Jeremiah 1:1, 4-10

Today our first reading draws from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah. We will hear from this prophetic book for the next two weeks in our daily Masses. Whenever we begin a new book, I typically provide just a short little reflection on the historical context of the book to help shed a little light on its meaning.

Scholars sometimes categorize the prophetic books into two major categories: major and minor prophets. The major prophets are the largest books. These are Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.

Jeremiah is sometimes called the “weeping prophet.” He began preaching around 627 B.C., a time when the Jewish faith was extremely weak. Jeremiah experienced rejection more than any other prophet. In some sense, he foreshadows our Lord Jesus Christ.

He preached for 40 years to his people with very little success. Just imagine a priest giving homilies for 40 years and his parishioners still don’t like him! Jeremiah witnessed the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple and his people brought into exile. While false prophets had been saying Jerusalem was fine, Jeremiah had the difficult task of calling his fellow Jewish people to repentance, as well as announce the tragic consequences if they failed to repent.

Today we hear about the call of Jeremiah. We hear the beautiful line, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you.” (Jer. 1:5) “Knowing” refers to intimate and complete knowledge. God knows Jeremiah completely, including his weakness. This, of course, gives us encouragement. Even in the womb, the Lord knows you (and your weaknesses!). And like Jeremiah, He has a plan for you.

Like Moses and so many other great figures, Jeremiah tries to excuse himself from the call. “I am too young.” (Jer. 1:6) Believe me, I have tried to use that one along with a bag of other tricks. The Lord had none of it. “No, Jeremiah, I have the right man.” The Lord has preordained necessary graces for the task set before Jeremiah.

Let today’s first reading give you great courage! By virtue of your baptism, like Jeremiah, you are appointed to some definite task for the Lord. Excuses won’t go very far. Be bold. Ask the Lord what His plan is for you and the graces needed to carry it out.