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From: Jeremiah 1:1, 4-10

The Lord calls Jeremiah

[1] The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth
in the land of Benjamin,

[4] Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,
[5] “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
[6] Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only
a youth.” But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you you shall go,
and whatever I command you you shall speak.
[8] Be not afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you.
[9] Then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said
to me,
“Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
[10] See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build up and to plant.”

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Commentary:

1:1-19. The book of Jeremiah is a collection of the prophet’s oracles arranged
more by subject than in chronological order and interspersed with stories about
his life. The heading (vv. 1-3), as in most of the prophetical books, introduces the
prophet and tells when he lived. Then, as an introduction to the book, comes an
account of the call of Jeremiah (vv. 4-10) along with two visions that give a good
description of the man (vv. 11-12 and 13-19).

1:1-3. Anathoth was a village in the kingdom of Judah about 5 km. (3 miles) north-
east of Jerusalem. It was a Levite city (cf. Jos 21:18), to which Abiathar the priest
was confined by order of King Solomon (1 Kings 2:26-27). Jeremiah’s ministry as
a prophet began in 627 BC, during the reign of Josiah (639-609) and lasted until
the deportation to Babylon in 587, during the reigns of Jehoiakim (609) and Zede-
kiah (597-587). No mention is made here of the reigns of Jehoahaz (609) and Je-
hoiachin (597), probably because they were very short.

1:4-10. This account of the call of Jeremiah gives a very good idea of the myster-
ious nature of every divine call — a call from all eternity and involving no merit on
the part of the person called, in which God makes known to a soul the why and
wherefore of his or her life. No one comes into being by accident, for everything
that happens is part of God’s providence (v. 5). God’s action in creating a person
is described graphically — “formed” you in the womb – a word used to describe
what a potter does when he models something in clay. The Lord “knew” Jeremi-
ah – a reference to his choosing him for a specific mission (cf. Amos 3:2; Rom
8:29); God has a plan for each person, and he endows each with talents that e-
quip him or her to put that plan into effect. The passage also talks of a “conse-
cration”, that is, the earmarking of a person or thing for the service of God. God’s
plan for someone, made before the person is born, emerges in due course, when
he or she is old enough to take on the assignments that God has been preparing
him for. Glossing this passage, St John Chrysostom, has God say this: “I am
the one who knit you together in your mother’s womb. Your life is not a work of
nature, nor the fruit of suffering. I am the origin and cause of all things: you should
obey and offer yourself to me,” and he adds: “It does not begin with I consecrated
you: first, I knew you; then I consecrated you. Thus is the original choice shown,
and after the original choice, the particular calling” (Fragmenta in Ieremiam, 1).

When the mystery of a person’s calling begins to be revealed, their initial reaction
can be one of fear, because they are very conscious of their limitations and feel
that they are not up to the tasks that the Lord entrusts them with. Jeremiah, for
example, argues that he is too young (v. 6). We do not know how old he was at
the time, for the word he uses to describe his age (na’ar) is imprecise. He was
probably only an adolescent (cf. Gen 37:2; 1 Sam 2:18; 3:1-21). In responding to
a vocation, one needs to listen, above all, to God who calls, who never leaves his
chosen ones on their own, and who always gives them the wherewithal to carry
out the mission he is charging them with (vv. 7-8).

The Lord’s symbolic gesture of putting out his hand to touch Jeremiah’s mouth,
as if to fill it with divine words, is similar to other gestures found in accounts of
the calling of prophets (cf. Is 6:7; Ezek 2:8-3:3; Dan 10:16). It is to tell the man
not to be concerned: he can rest assured that God will give him the right words
to express himself. It is a promise similar to that made by Jesus to his disciples:
he assured them of the Holy Spirit’s help when the time came for them to bear
witness to him (cf. Mt 10:19-20).

The assignment given to Jeremiah implies a heavy responsibility; he will need
fortitude if he is to carry it out (v. 10). It involves in the first place doing destruc-
tive things (plucking up, breaking down, destroying and overthrowing) and only
then come constructive roles (building and planning). St Gregory the Great will
apply the same idea to the attention that is called for in the pastoral care of the
faithful: “One cannot build up if what disturbs the foundation has not been dest-
royed. In other words, the sweet words of good preaching are sown in vain if the
thorns of self-love have not first been plucked from the hearts of listeners” (Re-
gular pastoralis, 3, 34).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Matthew 13:1-9

Parable of the Sower

[1] That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. [2] And
great crowds gathered about Him, so that He got into a boat and sat there; and
the whole crowd stood on the beach. [3] And He told them many things in para-
bles, saying: “A sower went out to sow. [4] And as he sowed, some seeds fell
along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. [5] Other seeds fell on
rocky ground, where they had not much soil, and immediately they sprang up,
since they had no depth of soil, [6] but when the sun rose they were scorched;
and since they had no root they withered away. [7] Other seeds fell upon thorns,
and the thorns grew up and choked them. [8] Other seeds fell on good soil and
brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. [9] He who
has ears, let him hear.”

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Commentary:

3. Chapter 13 of St. Matthew includes as many as seven of Jesus’ parables,
which is the reason why it is usually called “the parable discourse” or the “pa-
rabolic discourse”. Because of their similarity of content and setting these para-
bles are often called the “Kingdom parables”, and also the “parables of the Lake”,
because Jesus taught them on the shore of Lake Gennesaret. Jesus uses these
elaborate comparisons (parables) to explain certain features of the Kingdom of
God which He has come to establish (cf. Matthew 3:2)—its tiny, humble origins;
its steady growth; its worldwide scope; its salvific force. God calls everyone to
salvation but only those attain it who receive God’s call with good dispositions
and who do not change their attitude; the value of the spiritual benefits the King-
dom brings—so valuable that one should give up everything to obtain them; the
fact that good and bad are all mixed together until the harvest time, or the time
of God’s judgment; the intimate connection between earthly and heavenly as-
pects of the Kingdom, until it reaches its point of full development at the end
of time.

On Jesus’ lips, parables are exceptionally effective. By using parables He keeps
His listeners’ attention, whether they are uneducated or not, and by means of
the most ordinary things of daily life He sheds light on the deepest supernatural
mysteries. He used the parable device in a masterly way; His parables are quite
unique; they carry the seal of His personality; through them He has graphically
shown us the riches of grace, the life of the Church, the demands of the faith
and even the mystery of God’s own inner life.

Jesus’ teaching continues to provide every generation with light and guidance on
moral conduct. By reading and reflecting on His parables one can savor the ado-
rable humanity of the Savior, who showed such kindness to the people who crow-
ded around to hear Him—and who shows the same readiness to listen to our pra-
yers, despite our dullness, and to reply to our healthy curiosity when we try to
make out His meaning.

3-8. Anyone who has visited the fertile plain to the west of the Lake of Gennesa-
ret will appreciate Jesus’ touching description in the parable of the sower. The
plain is crisscrossed by paths; it is streaked with rocky ground, often with the
rocks lying just beneath the surface, and with the courses of rivulets, dry for
most of the year but still retaining some moisture. Here and there are clumps
of large thorn bushes. When the agricultural worker sows seed in this mixed
kind of land, he knows that some seed will fare better than others.

9. Jesus did not explain this parable there and then. It was quite usual for para-
bles to be presented in the first instance as a kind of puzzle to gain the listener’s
attention, excite his curiosity and fix the parable in his memory. It may well be
that Jesus wanted to allow his more interested listeners to identify themselves
by coming back to hear Him again—as happened with His disciples. The rest —
who listened out of idle curiosity or for too human reasons (to see Him work mi-
racles) — would not benefit from hearing a more detailed and deeper explanation
of the parable.

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Readings at Mass

First reading

Jeremiah 1:1,4-10 ©

The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, of a priestly family living at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin.

The word of the Lord was addressed to me, saying,

‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;

before you came to birth I consecrated you;

I have appointed you as prophet to the nations.’

I said, ‘Ah, Lord; look, I do not know how to speak: I am a child!’

But the Lord replied,

‘Do not say, “I am a child.”

Go now to those to whom I send you

and, say whatever I command you.

Do not be afraid of them,

for I am with you to protect you –

it is the Lord who speaks!’

Then the Lord put out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me:

‘There! I am putting my words into your mouth.

Look, today I am setting you

over nations and over kingdoms,

to tear up and to knock down,

to destroy and to overthrow,

to build and to plant.’

Psalm

Psalm 70:1-6,15,17 ©