Homily for 4th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
4th Sunday of Ordinary Time

At the beginning of the book of his prophecies, Jeremiah tells us who he is and how he came to be a prophet. God called him, appointed him, dedicated him not only from the moment when he was conceived in his mother’s womb but even earlier than that—which means that God created him with this purpose in mind: that he should be a prophet, that he should proclaim God’s message to Israel and “to the nations” (1:5).Jan. 31, 2010
Jer 1: 4-5, 17-19
St. Vincent’s Hosp., Harrison

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I dedicated you” (Jer 1: 5).



Jeremiah’s vocation, his calling from God, is unique insofar as not many people are called to be prophets and he alone was called at that particular time and place—Jerusalem late in the 7th century B.C.—to deliver the particular messages that God gave him.

What’s not unique to Jeremiah is that God knew him from eternity, from before his conception, and had a plan for him, a purpose for him, by which he would serve and glorify God. In the “old days” when the sisters and I were growing up (I don’t see anyone else here pushing 60), we learned our catechism by rote from a book called the Baltimore Catechism. One of the 1st questions in it asked why God made us, and the answer was, “God made me to know him, to love him, and to serve him in this world and to be happy with him forever in the next world.”

So, while the particulars are unique to Jeremiah, the general truth applies to everyone: God has an ultimate purpose for all of us: his glory and our happiness—and for the fulfillment of that purpose he knew and called every one of us long before he created us, and he’s designed some particular plan for each of us so that we will know, love, serve, and glorify him and we will be happy here and hereafter.

When we don’t pay attention to God’s call, God’s plan, then we’re not going to be happy. Ignoring or just not trying to discern God’s plan for us isn’t necessarily sinful; but we’ll be frustrated for sure because we’re not doing what he means us to do, not being the person he created us to be. Imagine trying to play basketball with a football. It wouldn’t be possible, would it? You could try, but you sure wouldn’t be able to dribble, you’d have to pass in a completely different way, and if you could manage to get the ball into the net, it’d probably get stuck. Now, imagine that someone shows up with a basketball, and he says, “Hey, guys! Want to play with this instead?” And you answer, “No, no, we’re good.” Time for a reality check? Time for Billy Crystal to exclaim, “Hel-looooo?” If our life game isn’t going so well, could it be because we’re playing it wrong?

We don’t know how God let Jeremiah know that he was to be a prophet. In another place, Jeremiah describes how he tried to avoid prophesying—no one likes being opposed and persecuted for living by and preaching the word of God (20:7-8,10)—and even in today’s reading we have a hint of that in Jeremiah’s case: “I have made you a fortified city…against the whole land, against Judah’s kings and princes, against its priests and people. [Doesn’t seem to be anyone left out.] Be not crushed on their account. They will fight against you but not prevail over you” (1:17-19). When he tried to dodge his vocation, Jeremiah says, God’s word burned like fire inside him and he couldn’t contain it; he had to speak what God gave him to speak (20:9).

So how do we know what’s God’s purpose for us? A few people clearly hear God’s voice deep inside them, telling them: This is what I want you to do. This is who I want you to be. Most people don’t. But most of us know what makes us happy, what fulfills us, what gives us a sense of contentment—not momentary, like Thanksgiving dinner, but lasting day after day, month after month. That’s your 1st clue about what God’s calling you to.

You get your 2d clue in prayer and reflection and silence. Maybe a lot of modern folks don’t have a clue about God’s will because they’ve never been silent for 5 straight minutes. You’ll never find out who God is or even who you are with 24/7 TV, radio, Internet, video games, chat rooms, texts and tweets. All of that actually hides us from ourselves. Yes, you can discover the world around you by reading newspapers and magazines and watching TV and Net surfing. How would we know about Haiti and all the other suffering in the world without those things? BUT—we have to stop to reflect about the world and the people in our lives and ask ourselves about our place in that world and in those relationships, about our own sins and brokenness; and then turn to God, to seek guidance, to throw our thoughts at him and see what kind of response we get. The response doesn’t come from a bolt of lightning or a big bass voice from above the ceiling or out of the clouds, but from quiet inspiration, from some kind of sense that “this is me”: You know, this man, this woman is really the one I want to spend my life with and have a family with. You know, no man, no woman can satisfy my deepest yearnings for love, for eternity; God wants something else of me, a life of consecration. You know, I have a need to share God’s love in service to others, and this way (fill in the blank) seems right to me.

You get your 3d clue from human feedback. You tell someone you trust—a priest, a sister, a parent, a best friend—about your thoughts, your inclinations, your desires. That someone verifies your thoughts, gives you advice, gives you more to think about, challenges you, helps you work your way to a decision about your life, a decision that you reach together with God because you decide: this is what he formed me for, this is what he dedicated me to from before I was born, from before I came to be in my mother’s womb.

No matter what God calls you to, you will have occasional doubts, challenges, difficulties, arguments, fights. You can ask the sisters. You can ask anyone who’s been married for 40 or 50 years. You can ask a priest. “They will fight against you,” the Lord says to Jeremiah, but “be not crushed on their account” (1:19,17). Everyone has problems in life. Even with all the good will in the world, people will disagree. But if you’re where God wants you to be, if you’re truly trying to live God’s will for you, “they will not prevail over you, as tho God should leave you crushed before them” (ibid.). No, God will be “with you to deliver you” (1:19). That doesn’t mean you’ll win the human arguments and battles all the time; no one does. It means that you’ll always be with God, and God will stand by you and encourage you—and you’ll be happy with that, here and hereafter.