Frederick, Maryland, United States - Daily Mass Reading & Catholic Meditation “The Word among Us” for Thursday, 10 July 2014Meditations: Hosea 11: Israel Played at Religion with Toy Gods
1-9 “When Israel was only a child, I loved him.
I called out, ‘My son!’—called him out of Egypt.
But when others called him,
he ran off and left me.
He worshiped the popular sex gods,
he played at religion with toy gods.
Still, I stuck with him. I led Ephraim.
I rescued him from human bondage,
But he never acknowledged my help,
never admitted that I was the one pulling his wagon,
That I lifted him, like a baby, to my cheek,
that I bent down to feed him.
Now he wants to go back to Egypt or go over to Assyria—
anything but return to me!
That’s why his cities are unsafe—the murder rate skyrockets
and every plan to improve things falls to pieces.
My people are hell-bent on leaving me.
They pray to god Baal for help.
He doesn’t lift a finger to help them.
But how can I give up on you, Ephraim?
How can I turn you loose, Israel?
How can I leave you to be ruined like Admah,
devastated like luckless Zeboim?
I can’t bear to even think such thoughts.
My insides churn in protest.
And so I’m not going to act on my anger.
I’m not going to destroy Ephraim.
And why? Because I am God and not a human.
I’m The Holy One and I’m here—in your very midst.
14th Week in Ordinary Time
My heart is overwhelmed. (Hosea 11:8)
Tradition has it that as St. John neared the end of his life, people flocked to the Island of Patmos to celebrate the Sunday Eucharist with him. John was old and frail, and he had to be carried out to the people each Sunday, but it never stopped him from giving them the same message week after week: “Little children, God loves you. Love him and love one another.” That’s all John ever said, but the people still came. When asked why he kept repeating the same words, he answered, “Because that’s what the Master kept saying.”
Today’s first reading shows us that the prophet Hosea might well have said the same thing! Speaking in the name of the Lord, the prophet recounts Israel’s infidelity and sins—and yet he insists that God has never stopped loving them. In a moving poem, he shows that God’s love is eternal, intimate, unconditional, and immutable. And when this love is poured out on his people, it’s called mercy.
Just like St. John, Hosea wanted his people to experience this mercy, not just hear about it. It sounds so attractive, doesn’t it? But to quote Pope Francis, “It is not easy to entrust oneself to God’s mercy because it is an abyss beyond comprehension. But we must!” “Oh Father, if you knew my life, you would not say that to me!” “Why, what have you done?” “Oh, I am a great sinner!” “All the better! Go to Jesus: he likes you to tell him these things… . He forgets, he kisses you, he embraces you, and he simply says to you, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.’ That is the only advice he gives you.”
Or consider God’s revelation to St. Faustina, a Polish sister who lived just prior to World War II: “I am love itself. My heart overflows with great mercy for souls, especially poor sinners. Let no one fear to draw near to me, even though their sins be as scarlet. My mercy is greater than all your sins.”
God loves you. Believe it! No matter what you have done, no matter what anyone has done to you, he hasn’t rejected you. Let him show you his love. Let him tell you over and over again, “I love you. Love me and love one another. I love you!”
“Father, I love you!” Amen.
Psalm 80: An Asaph Psalm
1-2 Listen, Shepherd, Israel’s Shepherd—
get all your Joseph sheep together.
Throw beams of light
from your dazzling throne
So Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh
can see where they’re going.
Get out of bed—you’ve slept long enough!
Come on the run before it’s too late.
3 God, come back!
Smile your blessing smile:
That will be our salvation.
8-18 Remember how you brought a young vine from Egypt,
cleared out the brambles and briers
and planted your very own vineyard?
You prepared the good earth,
you planted her roots deep;
the vineyard filled the land.
Your vine soared high and shaded the mountains,
even dwarfing the giant cedars.
Your vine ranged west to the Sea,
east to the River.
So why do you no longer protect your vine?
Trespassers pick its grapes at will;
Wild pigs crash through and crush it,
and the mice nibble away at what’s left.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies, turn our way!
Take a good look at what’s happened
and attend to this vine.
Care for what you once tenderly planted—
the vine you raised from a shoot.
And those who dared to set it on fire—
give them a look that will kill!
Then take the hand of your once-favorite child,
the child you raised to adulthood.
We will never turn our back on you;
breathe life into our lungs so we can shout your name!
Matthew 10:5-8 Jesus sent his twelve harvest hands out with this charge:
“Don’t begin by traveling to some far-off place to convert unbelievers. And don’t try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously.
9-10 “Don’t think you have to put on a fund-raising campaign before you start. You don’t need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment, and all you need to keep that going is three meals a day. Travel light.
11 “When you enter a town or village, don’t insist on staying in a luxury inn. Get a modest place with some modest people, and be content there until you leave.
12-15 “When you knock on a door, be courteous in your greeting. If they welcome you, be gentle in your conversation. If they don’t welcome you, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way. You can be sure that on Judgment Day they’ll be mighty sorry—but it’s no concern of yours now.
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