There is a phrase in today’s first reading that should make us stop and think.
“Israel was a luxuriant vine yielding plenty of fruit.”
At first it sounds like praise.
The nation is prosperous.
Successful.
Fruitful.
Things seem to be going well.
Yet Hosea immediately reveals the problem.
The more prosperous the people became, the further they drifted from God.
The more fruit they produced, the more altars they built to false gods.
The more blessings they received, the less grateful they became.
That is one of the great spiritual dangers.
Not suffering.
Success.
Because suffering often drives people to God.
Success can make people forget Him.
We see it throughout history.
When people know their need for God, they pray.
When life becomes comfortable, prayer often fades.
When difficulties come, churches fill.
When everything seems secure, faith can become an afterthought.
The tragedy of Israel was not that God had failed them.
The tragedy was that they had forgotten God.
They enjoyed His gifts while neglecting the Giver.
And perhaps that is a danger for every Christian.
It is possible to become so occupied with God’s blessings that we forget God Himself.
So occupied with work, family, plans, possessions, and responsibilities that prayer slowly disappears.
That is why Hosea speaks such a powerful line:
“Sow integrity for yourselves, reap a harvest of kindness; break up your fallow ground: it is time to seek the Lord.”
“It is time to seek the Lord.”
What a beautiful sentence.
Not tomorrow.
Not eventually.
Not when life becomes less busy.
Now.
It is time.
The image is agricultural.
Before seed can be planted, hard ground must be broken up.
The soil must be prepared.
The weeds removed.
The earth opened.
The same is true spiritually.
Sometimes hearts become hard.
Prayer becomes routine.
Faith becomes mechanical.
Confession is neglected.
The Gospel stops challenging us.
The soil becomes compacted.
And Hosea says:
Break up the ground.
Start again.
Seek the Lord.
That brings us naturally to the Gospel.
Jesus calls the Twelve and sends them out.
Notice that before they are apostles, before they are missionaries, before they are preachers, they are disciples.
They have first been with Christ.
They have first listened to Him.
They have first received from Him.
Only then are they sent.
That order matters.
The Church is not sustained primarily by activity.
It is sustained by union with Christ.
The apostles are effective because they have first been called.
And what is the first thing they are told to preach?
Not a complicated theology.
Not a political programme.
Not a social reform movement.
Simply:
“The kingdom of heaven is close at hand.”
In other words:
God is acting.
God is near.
The Messiah has come.
Now is the time to respond.
That is still the Church’s message.
The Kingdom is close at hand.
Every Mass proclaims it.
Every sacrament proclaims it.
Every saint proclaims it.
God is not distant.
God is not absent.
God has drawn near in Jesus Christ.
And perhaps the two readings together ask us one simple question.
What is growing in my life?
Israel was producing fruit materially but becoming barren spiritually.
The apostles were producing spiritual fruit because they remained close to Christ.
What about us?
Are we growing only in worldly success?
Or are we growing in holiness?
Are we becoming more prayerful?
More charitable?
More patient?
More faithful?
More Christ-like?
Because in the end that is the harvest that matters.
Not what we possess.
Not what we achieve.
Not what others think of us.
But whether our lives bear fruit for God.
Hosea says:
“It is time to seek the Lord.”
And Jesus says:
“The kingdom of heaven is close at hand.”
Together they form one message.
Do not delay.
Do not settle for a superficial faith.
Do not become content with merely outward religion.
Seek the Lord.
Stay close to Christ.
And allow Him to make your life fruitful for eternity.
St. Mary's, St. John Bosco and St. Edward's 