The Catholic Calendar for Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Wednesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
Hosea 10:1-3, 7-8, 12
Psalm 105:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
Matthew 10:1-7

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

I love the contrast between today’s two readings. The first, from Hosea, instructs the people:

"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.” (Hosea 10:12)

The Lord, through His prophet Hosea, says to the people, “Get up and do the right thing and seek the Lord.” In other words, they need to go find Him. Then, in the Gospel, our Lord tells the twelve disciples:

"Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation:
‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’" (Matthew 10:6-7)

The Lord sends His disciples to the people to proclaim the good news. In other words, the Lord goes to find His people. God has always sent faithful prophets to His people. But with Jesus, He came to the people unlike He had ever done before. He sent His only-beloved Son, a special part of Himself to make the ultimate sacrifice for His people. He continues to send Himself to us daily in His Spirit and in the Eucharist. This is how loving our Lord is – that He comes to us each and every moment of the day, always seeking to bring us closer to Him.

- Don Claunch, SFO
(dlclaunch at bresnan dot net)