(19th Sunday after Pentecost) (Luke 6:31-36)
The holy Prophet Hosea, celebrated today on the calendar of the Church, lived in the northern kingdom of Israel during a time of wars and turmoil and political intrigue. Six kings ruled in the final 25 years of the northern kingdom. Four of them were killed by those who then took the throne; only one was succeeded by his son. Israel was a vassal state of Assyria, paying tribute; and the intrigues and disloyalty of her last two kings led to invasions by Assyria, which ultimately destroyed the kingdom and caused the exile of the people from that land. The ten northern tribes of Israel vanished into history.
The prophet’s own life was marked by peculiarities as well. He was commanded by God to marry an adulterous woman; and their three children (two of which were probably not his) were given names that were symbolic of the destruction that was to come if the people did not repent, and abandon their worship of idols, and return to the true and proper worship of God. The names given to the children are translated as, “God scatters”; “not loved”; and “not My people.” Yet Hosea is commanded by God to love his wife, even though she has been loved by someone else, and is guilty of adultery. The holy prophet is obedient, and redeems is wife from the slavery into which she had fallen, serving as a prostitute. He tells her, as God has commanded, that she is to live with him and be faithful to him, and he will love her and care for her.
The people of God are being told, through the prophet’s actions, of the great love that God has for them, even though they have not been faithful to Him. The withdrawal of God’s protection occurred when they would not repent of their worship of idols: which included the offering of their children as sacrificial animals in fire, making them burnt offerings to their gods. The people of God also engaged in a number of different forms of sexual activities they had learned from the pagan peoples around them, including sodomy and bestiality. They did not repent; and so their kingdom was destroyed, and they were taken away into exile from the land God had given them, never to return. Even then, God promises that He will continue to love His people; and, for those who repent, He will bring them to Himself, and love them, and provide for their needs, as Hosea does for his wife after she has been unfaithful to him.
At a glance, we who are the new Israel, might wonder what may be in store for us, as we dwell in a land where the lives of unborn children are offered up as sacrifices on the altar of convenience; and where we are told that we must accept all sorts of sexual practices as acceptable “alternative lifestyles.” We would do well to examine our lives, and see if we have departed from the ways that God has given us to walk in; to see whether or not each of us has been faithful to the Lord, or unfaithful. Of course, if we look honestly, we must say that we have been unfaithful, for we have sinned – and our sins show us our unfaithfulness, and the idols we prefer to our God. Pride, greed, lust, gluttony; as well as a lack of prayer, neglecting to fast, failing to give alms and offerings, and indulging our passion, rather than struggling against them – all these things point to our spiritual adultery in our relationship with God. Yet God’s promise still is true: for those who repent and return to Him, He will love, and provide for their salvation.
If we will dwell in God’s love, we can do what our Lord Jesus commands in today’s reading from the Gospel of St. Luke. If we are filled with God’s love, as He promises, we can love our enemies, as well as those who love us. This should make us stop and think. When someone hates you, they expect that you will hate them in return. If, instead, we love them, there is the possibility that they may be changed, as their hatred is met with love and kindness and patience and forgiveness. If we do so, we are like God, Who has loved us when we hated Him, Who has blessed us when we were His enemies. And if we strive to love everyone, we are like God, Who is merciful to the unthankful and to those who are evil – as we have been, and are, each time we sin.
Brothers and sisters: Let us repent of our sins, and return to the worship of the God Who has shown the depth of His love for us by the sacrifice He made of Himself on our behalf. Let us love our Lord with the fullness of our being; and love our neighbor as we love ourselves. If we do these things, we need have no fear on the great and terrible Day of Judgment; for we shall be safe in the love of God.
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