Wednesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

“Communion of the Apostles”
by Luca Signorelli, 1512

 
Readings for Wednesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: Hosea 10:1-3, 7-8, 12
 
Israel is a luxuriant vine
whose fruit matches its growth.
The more abundant his fruit,
the more altars he built;
The more productive his land,
the more sacred pillars he set up.
Their heart is false,
now they pay for their guilt;
God shall break down their altars
and destroy their sacred pillars.
If they would say,
“We have no king”—
Since they do not fear the Lord,
what can the king do for them?
 
The king of Samaria shall disappear,
like foam upon the waters.
The high places of Aven shall be destroyed,
the sin of Israel;
thorns and thistles shall overgrow their altars.
Then they shall cry out to the mountains, “Cover us!”
and to the hills, “Fall upon us!”
 
“Sow for yourselves justice,
reap the fruit of piety;
break up for yourselves a new field,
for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain down justice upon you.”
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Hos 10:1-3, 7-8, 12
 
The prophet Hosea speaks of the relationship between secular success and the erosion of faith. The people have moved away from the fidelity demanded by God’s covenant, even to a point where they seem to be seeking a king other than God (as described in 1 Samuel 8:6ff). They have adopted pagan practices, setting up pillars and altars to false gods.  The oracle of Hosea predicts the destruction of these places of false worship and finally exhorts the people to return to genuine love of God (“Sow for yourselves justice, reap the fruit of piety; break up for yourselves a new field”).
 
-------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 105:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
 
R. (4b) Seek always the face of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds.
Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the Lord!
R. Seek always the face of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
Look to the Lord in his strength;
seek to serve him constantly.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.
R. Seek always the face of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
You descendants of Abraham, his servants,
sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
He, the Lord, is our God;
throughout the earth his judgments prevail.
R. Seek always the face of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 105:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
 
Psalm 105 is a historical psalm of thanksgiving in hymnic style. This selection is an introduction. It remembers God’s covenant with Abraham, the promise of the land of Canaan, and calls for continued faithfulness. Recalling this historical relationship, the psalmist calls the people to faithful worship. Reference to Abraham’s descendants also provides an image used by St. Paul providing substance to the promise fulfilled in Christ (see Philippians 3:3-8a and Galatians 3:22-29).
 
CCC: Ps 105:3 30
-------------------------------------------
Gospel: Matthew 10:1-7
 
Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out
and to cure every disease and every illness.
The names of the Twelve Apostles are these:
first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew;
James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
Philip and Bartholomew,
Thomas and Matthew the tax collector;
James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus;
Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot
who betrayed Jesus.
 
Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,
“Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town.
Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 10:1-7
 
Following the instructions to the Twelve on how they are to evangelize given in the preceding chapter, Jesus now sends them out. St. Matthew’s Gospel does not tell the stories of how they were called but provides the names and mission of the disciples. It is only in Matthew that the Twelve are designated as apostles reflecting the mission and role they fulfill. They are then sent, but only to the “chosen people.” This focus on the Jewish audience tells us that St. Matthew’s Gospel was originally directed principally at Hebrew Christians.
 
CCC: Mt 10:5-7 543
-------------------------------------------
Reflection:
 
We get the sense that some things never change as we consider Hosea exhorting the Hebrew people.  Written between 750 and 732 BC, the prophet called on them to repent, and return to the Lord. Similarly, Jesus sent the Twelve out to the same people of his time with essentially the same mission.  The people of Hosea’s day had been successful in dealing with the secular societies surrounding the northern kingdoms of Samaria and Israel.  They had fallen away from their centralized worship of God and taken to the pagan practice of setting up local “pillars” in lip service to God’s authority.  But they truly worshiped their own success in commerce.
 
With a slightly different flavor, the Hebrews of Jesus’ day had also gotten away from God’s call to holiness and had allowed their practice to become an exterior façade rather than true worship.  The temple had become a place of commerce; its power, while symbolically and traditionally centered on historical religious traditions, was in the financial wealth it represented.  Jesus attacked this structure.  When he sent his disciples out, they were to announce that the kingdom of God was at hand, call for individual conversion and repentance, and for reuniting themselves as children of God.
 
Looking at these two examples from history, we can see how these same forces are at work today.  Secular wealth and a fundamental motivation of greed are the principal forces that move our society.  Into this environment we are sent, to call those we meet back to the Lord’s values, back to respecting and loving each person, and making human dignity a priority in how we live and interact with others.  We are asked to provide an example of what it means to live Christian values, as Jesus commended to us. 
 
Some things never change, and the mission of the Twelve is passed to us.  With all our hearts and minds, we are asked by the Lord to take his message into a world that does not want to hear it.  It is a message of peace and love, a message of faith in one who will make all things new.  We pray today that we can faithfully carry this Good News to the world and provide the path to salvation to all we meet.
 
Pax

---

[1] The picture is “Communion of the Apostles” by Luca Signorelli, 1512.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.