This week in the reading from the Old Testament, we have been listening to the message of Hosea. Israel had entered a time of relative prosperity and forgot its covenant relationship with God. They organized their social and political life without taking into consideration the Word of God and even allowed the worship of foreign idols. The marriage of a prophet is an important symbol of his mission. God called Hosea to marry a prostitute as a sign of God’s continuing love for unfaithful Israel. Hosea had three children. Their names were:
Jezreel, first son: named after the rich valley of the same name where the king of Israel established himself through a bloody massacre
Lo-ruhamah, daughter: which translates as ‘not pitied’
Lo-ammi, second son: which translates as ‘not my people’
All this week we have been listening to Hosea list Israel’s infidelities and atrocities and the consequent dooms. Today is different – Hosea announces how God continues to love Israel in the midst of its infidelity. Today the prophet says God continues to sustain and take care of Israel even when Israel does not recognize God’s actions and presence.
“I stooped to feed my child; they did not know that I was their healer.
My heart is overwhelmed, my pity is stirred.”
God’s love for us is constant – even when we are lost, even when we willfully wander far away. Many people in Israel were lost in the popular trends of the day – worship for foreign idols, power, lust, money, prestige, violence, & politics. Hosea was focused on the love and faithfulness of God.
Today’s Gospel reflects the Gospel we heard last Sunday. Jesus sends out the apostles and disciples with very specific instructions about how they are to travel and about their message. They are to travel through life with nothing – no staff, purse, luggage, extra provisions, nor money, – nothing more than the announcement of God’s love. Jesus is the real embodiment of the love of God announced in the Old Testament. The constant love that Hosea showed to his unfaithful wife that was a symbol of God’s love for Israel which was made present in the person Jesus – and now through us, the local church. Hosea organized his family life, right down to the names of his children to show the presence of God in the midst of unfaithful Israel. The instructions and message that Jesus gave to those first disciples were not intended for a momentary trip or a once in a lifetime event. Rather they are indications and guides for a whole new way of life, day after day. We as a Church, as disciples, are called to share and spread that love which we have received through our individual lives and our life as a local faith community. The first disciples were focused on this task of evangelization through every moment of their lives.