THE AUTHENTIC FOUNDATION FOR HEAVENLY BLESSINGS

Reflection for Wednesday of the 14^th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A

(Hosea 10:1-3, 7-8, 12; Mt 10: 1-7)

Our prophet of the Week, Hosea, decries how Israel that was richly blessed abused the grace given to her. “The more her fruits increased, the more altars she built; as her country improved, she improved the pillars.” Sometimes, those who are casual with their faith are those who have received what others are praying for. The more God made Israel to flourish, the more they built altars to false gods, and give to idols the worship due to God. Today, Hosea outlines how God would destroy those altars and uproot the pillars dedicated to the idols. Then he turned to the people and said, “Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap fruit of mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain salvation upon you.” Yes, after uprooting the false beliefs, God’s mercy and salvation will reign.

The Gospel presents to us the College of Apostles. They are individually named and identified. The apostles are the “foundation stones” on which the new and authentic worship of God is established (Eph 2:20; Rev 21:14). No other foundation is to be erected (cf. 1 Cor 3:11). Jesus gave them authority and missionary mandate. Firstly, He gave them authority over unclean spirits: to cast them out, and to heal every infirmity. The devil must be uprooted; false altars and pillars must be destroyed because the authority to achieve these has already been transmitted to and instituted in the apostles. The fruit of God’s blessings on His people cannot be offered to false gods! This is what Hosea condemned. And the apostles shall bring the prophecy to fulfillment by casting out every abode of Satan among God’s people.

Secondly, Jesus mandated the Apostles to go out and preach, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” This message would permeate their lives such that standing on apostolic foundations implies being influenced by ‘kingdom values’, that is, living out the righteousness of the Kingdom of God. Again, this mandate implies that heavenly blessings are now super-abundant, available and accessible to you. Hence, you must, in return, bear fruit for the Kingdom, unlike the Israel of Hosea’s time that returned the fruits of God’s blessings to idols.

The apostolic authority and mandate await us as we build our lives, family, Church, etc on this eternal foundation. Whenever we want to build on new foundations apart from the one Jesus established in His apostles, we are setting up such altars that Hosea condemned, which shall be uprooted and destroyed. True worship, victory over evil, access to heavenly blessings, and the mandate to spread the Good News and bear fruit for the Kingdom of heaven is ours today as we remain firm on the apostolic foundations. Amen!

Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R

Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church,

Tedi-Muwo, Lagos.

Wednesday July 8^th, 2020.