TENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Year A

Readings

First Reading
Hos 6:3–6

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 50:1, 8, 12–13, 14–15

Second Reading
Rom 4:18–25

Gospel
Mt 9:9–13

Meditation on Today’s Readings

Taken from the Vatican II Sunday and Weekday Missal
Written by Celia Sirois

The point Paul is trying to make in today’s selection from Romans can be more easily grasped if the verse immediately preceding is included. In Romans 4:17b Paul says of Abraham, “He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not exist.” Like many Jewish writers of his day, Paul mines the story of Abraham in order to find support for his theology: in this instance, for his teaching that we are saved by faith in Christ. The connection between Abraham and the Christian believer, as Paul sees it and says here, is that both put their faith in God who has the power to bring life from the dead womb of Sarah as from the empty tomb of Jesus.

The power of God to bring the dead to life is also attested by the prophecy of Hosea and the pronouncement of Jesus in today’s readings. The God who slew Ephraim with the prophet’s words will raise them up on the third day, Hosea says (6:2). And the divine physician looks for the sick, the sinners, and restores them to life.

The copyright for the Sunday Missal Introductions is:
Copyright (c) 2001, Daughters of St. Paul
The copyright for the Weekday Missal Introduction is:
Copyright (c) 2002, Daughters of St. Paul