1st Reading Hosea 14:1-9
Psalm Ps. 51:3-4.8-9.12-13.14 and 17 (R. 17b)
Gospel Matthew 10: 16-23
After every fall into sin, the Love of God beckons the faithless heart to experience a change towards good and come to an acknowledgement of God's goodness, thereby leading to conversion. The theme of conversion is well expressed in the first reading of today. With Conversion, we remember the season of Lent which this reading tends to relive again and again.
Today, we end the book of Hosea with an appeal to Israel to seek God's forgiveness for turning away from his love. They acknowledged their guilt and spoke of the weakness of what they trusted in (foreign nations, other gods and even themselves).
Consequently, we hear about the restoration of Israel. God offered to be like dew for Israel. Dew is a life-giving element. A return to God will restore the broken relationship. This is Religion.
Dear friends, conversion is necessary. We do not expect the road to be levelled. There are always shortcomings, those moments of sin and faithlessness. In all these we still have to trust in the mercy of God for his mercy is necessitated by his love for us. Come to terms with God today. He is the forgiving one.
The Gospel, as Matthew narrates, is seen again with a missionary mandate to the apostles and, by extension, to us for we partake of this mission by Baptism. They were being sent as “sheep in the midst of wolves”.
Who are the wolves? Deducing from the Gospel, I would want us to focus on three groups of 'wolves'. The first category are men. This is more general. Men in the generic sense. Fear everyone. These category may want to cause destruction even before God (in the synagogue) and those put in the hem of affairs to protect lives (Governors and Kings).
The second category of wolves to beware of, narrowly stated, is Family. These are your own people. These are those you belong to. Nothing seem painful than that perpetuated by that fellow you have the closest relation to. They may want you down. The keyword is BE CAREFUL, not that you should Hate Family. Friends also constitute this particular group. Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted the heel against me (cf. Psalm 41:9)
The third group of wolves is ourselves. This is not so explicit in the Gospel but is needed. It is the individual being persecuted who is being referred to here. Be careful not to give up. All may seem hopeless but never relent. Beware of not feeling to give up.
Pax et Bonum
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