In the first reading for Mass today, from the book of Jeremiah, the prophet Jeremiah at first did not want to serve God. He tried to get out of it by saying, “I know not how to speak; I am too young.” But the Lord answered him, “Say not, I am too young. To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak. Have no fear before them, because I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.”
These are such wonderful words of encouragement for all young people today. God has need of young people to serve Him and they do not need to worry about their lack of experience. God doesn’t call the trained, He trains the called. This is so very true with the call to the priesthood and religious life, but also for many other areas in our own lives as well. Anytime we begin a new venture in our lives, some of us will feel that we are lacking the necessary skills or experience that we need. The prophet Jeremiah felt that way in today’s first reading for mass, and so did Moses if you remember. Moses wasn’t a very good public speaker, but God found a way to help him with this limitation, by giving him Aaron to speak to the people for Moses. There is no obstacle that can not be overcome if it is God’s will to do so.
The prophet Jeremiah is giving testimony about his personal experience of God, when he said, “Then the Lord extended his hand and touched my mouth saying, see, I place my words in your mouth.” It makes you wonder if there were very many people who questioned if this experience of God was legitimate or not? Sure, we know now that Jeremiah was God’s prophet, but no one knew that when Jeremiah was first called. Did very many people question the legitimacy of his call to be a prophet? God must have known they would do so, because he told Jeremiah, “Have no fear before them, because I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.” And that’s the confidence that we need in order to do God’s will too. It is not by our own abilities that God’s will is accomplished in the world, but by His grace.
Grace is a sheer gift from God. We can do nothing to earn God’s grace any more than we can earn winning the lottery. We can wish and hope and pray, but that doesn’t mean it is going to happen. God gives His grace to us at His own good pleasure, in His own time and in His own way.
Our cooperation with God’s grace is needed though. Grace can be wasted if we do not recognize it for what it is, and cooperate in it’s action in our lives. Have you ever ignored the promptings of the Holy Spirit? Or felt strongly compelled to do something that kept nagging at you in the back of your mind, but you keep putting it off until it finally goes away? These are times when we fail to cooperate with God’s grace.
The gospel today is about a sower who sowed seeds and some fell on the path and birds ate it up, or the rocky ground where it couldn’t put down roots, or in the midst of thorns that choked it, or in good, rich soil that produced a hundredfold of fruit. This parable is about the Word of God. The Word of God is like seeds that are sewn in the world and we are the rocks, or thorns, or good soil that the seeds land on.
However, you could also compare this parable to grace as well. God sends His grace to people many times throughout their lives, in order to accomplish some good in the world, whether it is in your own family or in the context of the larger community. Sometimes we don’t recognize it at all though. Grace is something we aren’t sure of so we brush it off. Or we understand what grace is but do not have the proper confidence or trust in it. It never takes root. If people accept an act of grace for what it is, but then get busy with other things and do not allow it to work in their lives, then this is like the thorns that choke the growth of new plants. Grace needs time to take root in our lives. God can send us all the graces He wants, but if we do not stop our worldly concerns long enough to cooperate with it, then it never comes to fruition.
The next time an unexpected form of ‘help’ comes in your life, just accept it as a gift from God. It is hard to accept help from others sometimes, but have you ever heard the expression that Christ has no hands or feet now but yours? Sometimes God’s grace works through other people too, in order to help you with your situation. It’s pretty awesome to also recognize when maybe God’s grace is acting through you too, so that you can be the hands and feet of Christ for someone else who is struggling as well.
Love is a two way street, and so is grace.
Today is the memorial of Saint Bridget by the way. Saint Bridget became very good at cooperating with God’s grace at work in her life. She raised 8 children, became a secular Franciscan, received mystical revelations, and worked for the papacy to be relocated to Rome, and also founded a religious order. Cooperation with God’s grace is something she was definitely an expert in.
Daily Mass Readings:
Jeremiah 1: 1, 4-10 / Psalm 71 / Matthew 13: 1-9
