Bible Diary

Daily Reading

Wednesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

LECTIONARY
385

FIRST READING

HOS 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.”

PSALM

PS105:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

Response: Seek always the face of the Lord.

Sing to him, sing his praise,
proclaim all his wondrous deeds.
Glory in his holy name;
rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!

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.

You descendants of Abraham, his servants,
sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!
He, the LORD, is our God;
throughout the earth his judgments prevail.

GOSPEL

MT 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.’”

Daily Reflection

Some absurdly believe that the more elaborate their rituals or the more expensive their offering or the more fancy their place of worship or the more the number of holy structures they erect, the more pleased will God be with them!

Oddly enough, the Israelites believed this, for as they began to prosper, they began erecting more altars, fashioning graven images and creating elaborate rituals. Soon, from the one Temple in Jerusalem that had united the people in the worship of a monotheistic God, there was now a multiplicity of temples and gods. In time, this caused divisions on the basis of beliefs and it wasn’t long before the twelve tribes of Israel were invaded and scattered.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus’ call to the twelve Apostles (symbolic of the twelve tribes of Israel) is God’s action of uniting His people once again.

Does my worship of God set me apart or lead me to build a community of love?