WEDNESDAY, JULY 9, 2008  -  FOURTEENTH WEEK OF ORDINARY TIME

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.

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MATTHEW 10:1-7
           
       Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority to expel unclean spirits and to cure sickness and disease of every kind.  The names of the twelve apostles are these: first Simon, now known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, Zebedee’s son, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot Party member, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Jesus sent these men on mission as the Twelve, after giving them the following instructions: “Do not visit pagan territory and do not enter a Samaritan town. Go instead after the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this announcement: ‘The reign of God is at hand!”’
                              
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What a motley crew Jesus has called together to be his apostles.  There are no religious leaders among the group.  A few were John the Baptist's disciples.  One was a zealot.  They are fishermen and tax collectors.  They are not particularly bright nor are they all that holy.  They are not men of courage as we shall see when Jesus is arrested.

Yet Jesus chooses these men to be the builders of his Church.  He empowers them to cure the sick, cast our demons, and announce the reign of God.

The message for us today is that we, too, have been chosen, not because we are particularly smart or holy.  We are chosen for the same reasons the 12 were chosen.  Jesus wants us to follow him.  We have been chosen by Christ to proclaim the good news with our lives.  He will empower us, too, just as he did with the Apostles.  He will fill us with the same Holy Spirit that transformed these frightened men into bold evangelists.

When we think about the mission of the Church we often ask the right question, but of the wrong person.  We often ask the person seeking our help, "What do I have to offer?"  We think wrongly that we have little to offer.  It is the right question but we should ask if of Jesus.  "What do I have to offer?  Show me the gifts you have given me to aid in the mission of the Church to spread the Gospel and make disciples of all nations."  He will empower us to be bold evangelists, not of speech but of action, living lives that proclaim Jesus as Lord and Savior.

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Lord Jesus, often I feel weak and unable to do anything for you and your Church.  Fill me with your Holy Spirit that I may understand the gifts you have given me and grant me the courage to use them in your service.