Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
who took them in my arms;
I drew them with human cords,
with bands of love;
I fostered them like one
who raises an infant to his cheeks;
Yet, though I stooped to feed my child,
they did not know that I was their healer.
who took them in my arms;
I drew them with human cords,
with bands of love;
I fostered them like one
who raises an infant to his cheeks;
Yet, though I stooped to feed my child,
they did not know that I was their healer.
Biblical scholars today have learned much from poets and
story tellers. They understand that a writer’s personality appears in his
writing. More than that, his core beliefs – not just his educated and socially-approved
opinions – appear even when the author tries to hide behind the text.
The poet/writer/prophet Hosea is right out there. He is a
man of terrible tempers and great tenderness. He is fiercely jealous of his
wife Gomer, whom he loves with all his heart. He adores their children, even
when they adopt her moral attitudes. He is trapped in his passionate love of
them, easily persuaded to forgiveness when they turn to him, and insanely
jealous when they stray.
In the first readings today and tomorrow, we hear of God’s tender love for Israel
It is sometimes easy to avoid the emotional weight of the
scriptures, just as it’s easy to avoid the sadness of country music. But when we realize these artists are recounting their own
stories, we hear the painful Truth that rings through them.
Hosea has told us of his personal experience of love, its
tender joy and tragic disappointment. And he has spoken with the authority of God.
Listen to him.
You can find the readings of each day when you click on the title of each blog entry; e.g. on the above "Thursday of the Fourteenth Week of Ordinary Time."
I find Hosea to be an interesting prophet. Like you say, he compared his personal love affair with his wife, Gomer, to God's love affair with the Israelites. Love makes no sense. It is not always advantageous to one love another. They don't often love in return. Hey, just ask the parent of any teenager; teens are difficult people to get along with. But just as a human parent persists through the tough days, God persists in loving us even when we forget to love Him.
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