Last week we heard readings from the
prophet Amos – a prophet who preached social justice in Ancient Israel at a
time when that nation was experiencing prosperity and right before it fell into
a period of darkness and despair. Today, we start hearing readings in
our daily masses from the prophet Hosea, who lived in the same general time
period as Amos. We actually don’t know many details
about Hosea other than what appears in Scripture. The book of Hosea is interesting in
that the prophet compares his relationship to his unfaithful wife Gomer to the
relationship God has with the unfaithful nation of Israel. Just as Hosea will not leave his
unfaithful wife, God will not leave his covenant with Israel even though she is
unfaithful. I come from the Northside of
Chicago, which means I am a diehard Chicago Cubs fan. And this runs deep in my blood – my 4
grandparents and both of my parents were also born in Chicago. I grew up rooting for the Cubs with the rest
of my family members from birth, so it seems. And for those of you that know about
the Cubs, they are not very good at winning – not at all. Even right now, the Cubs have one of the
worst records in baseball. However, I would never EVER think of
being loyal to another team. I love the
Cubs, and will root for them until my last breath. And I know a lot of you can relate,
because so many Mississippians feel the same way about their college teams,
whether it be Mississippi State or Ole Miss or another school. And yet my loyalty to the Cubs means
nothing compared to the loyalty and faithfulness God has for his people, that
God has for us. Think of that the next time you are
having a tough week or are having a difficult time fitting mass into your busy
schedule. Sometimes it is indeed
difficult to keep the commitments we have in our faith, but a commitment is
what God asks of us, and it is all about making priorities in our lives. God is there for us – and He is
counting on us as well. What does that mean to the way we
will live out our faith?
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