This coming Sunday is the 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time. 10 He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there. 11 Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” The final instruction provides a response for those who reject the disciples. Shaking dust off one’s feet was a gesture of cursing a place. Continue reading
The book of Hosea is a collection of prophetic messages delivered by the prophet Hosea and narrative descriptions of Hosea’s marriage and the birth of his children (1:2-2:1; 3:1-5). Most of Hosea’s messages are announcements of God’s anger with Israel (the northern of the two Israelite kingdoms) and God’s impending judgment on these people. Hosea’s messages focus on Israel’s unfaithfulness to the Lord. This lack of faithfulness is seen in Israel’s worship of other gods (alongside the Lord). The religious leaders of the people are singled out by Hosea for condemnation. Their job was to lead the people in faithfulness, but they actually did the opposite. The prophet also criticizes the political leaders of the nation for forming covenants with Egypt and Assyria, rather than relying on the Lord. The book also includes messages of hope, most notably the tender image of God as the parent who taught the child Israel to walk and will not, in the end, abandon the nation. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time. Missionary pairs appear to have been characteristic of early Christianity. Jesus initially called pairs of brothers (1:16–20). Acts refers to Peter and John (Acts 3:11; 8:9), to Barnabas and Paul (Acts 11:25–26), and to companions whom Peter takes with him to Cornelius (Acts 10:23). The dangers of travel in antiquity make such arrangements necessary. Other interpreters have suggested that the use of pairs should be associated with the legal requirement for two witnesses to testify in a case (Num 35:30; Deut 19:15) since a judicial note is introduced in the gesture of judgment against those who refuse to hear the messengers of the gospel (v. 11). Continue reading
The second section of Hosea (4:1-14:10) consists entirely of prophetic messages that Hosea delivered. These messages are generally grouped into sections chronologically:
Introduction (Hosea 1:1) – “The word of the LORD that came to Hosea, the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, son of Joash, king of Israel.”
Marriage as a Metaphor for the Covenant (Hosea 1:2-3:5)
The first section of the book is organized around the theme of marriage as a metaphor for God’s relationship with the people. According to this metaphor, God is like a faithful husband who is married to Israel, a faithless wife. This section of Hosea has been the source of much controversy and debate. This section announces judgment on Israel and then promises restoration following punishment. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time. Their faith forms a striking contrast to the reception Jesus receives in his hometown. Jesus astonishes those gathered in the synagogue with his teaching and healing (vv. 1–2; Mark 1:21–28). Readers might expect an example of healing or exorcism to follow as in Capernaum, but it does not. As Perkins [591-2] notes: “Jesus’ natural family were excluded from the circle of believers in an earlier episode (3:21, 31–35). That episode establishes the contrast between the Twelve, whom Jesus chose to be with him (3:14); the natural family of Jesus (3:21, 31); and the wider circle of Jesus’ followers, his new family, those who do the will of God (3:35). Jesus’ return to Nazareth, with members of his new family (the disciples; v. 1) raised the question left open in an earlier episode: Will those with familial and social ties to Jesus believe?” Mark 6:1-6 answers the question: no Continue reading
In today’s first reading, the Northern Kingdom of Israel is being warned about the choices they have made and are making – and the consequences of those choices should they continue. As a whole, Hosea accuses Israel of three sins in particular. Instead of putting their trust in the Lord alone, the people break the covenant: (1) by counting on their own military strength, (2) by making treaties with foreign powers (Assyria and Egypt), and (3) by running after the Baals, the gods of fertility. Israel thus forgets that the Lord is its strength, its covenant partner, and giver of fertility. Continue reading
The only information the text provides us about the life of Hosea concerns his marriage. Even if we cannot reconstruct what happened exactly, the text as it now stands speaks of three moments in the relationship: first love, separation, reunion. This marriage is a symbol of the covenant between the Lord and Israel. Hosea speaks about the first love, the short period of Israel’s loyalty in the desert, which was then followed by a long history of unfaithfulness lasting until his day. Hosea accuses Israel of three crimes in particular. Instead of putting their trust in the Lord alone, the people break the covenant: (1) by counting on their own military strength, (2) by making treaties with foreign powers (Assyria and Egypt), and (3) by running after the Baals, the gods of fertility. Israel thus forgets that the Lord is its strength, its covenant partner, and giver of fertility. This unfaithful behavior will lead to Israel’s destruction by Assyria, but God’s love will have the last word. The back and forth movement from doom to salvation is typical of the Book of Hosea. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time. Over the last many Sundays we were witnesses to the extraordinary character of Jesus’ power as he stills a raging storm on the Sea of Galilee (4:35-41); casts out a demonic legion (5:1-20); raises Jairus’ daughter and heals a woman sick for 12 years (5:21-43). These miracles show that Jesus has power over the realms of nature, the demonic, and death. Following this powerful series of miracles, Jesus enters his hometown where the people “take offense” at him and “So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.” (Mark 6:5-6) Jesus is amazed (ethaumazen) at their unbelief (6:1-6a). The word used can also be taken as “to wonder,” and it uses the form that indicates present and ongoing amazement. Continue reading
The first readings for the daily Masses this week are taken from the Book of Hosea. It is the first of the so-called “Minor Prophets” of the Old Testament. The Minor Prophets (also called “The Book of the Twelve) is a collection of prophetic books, written between about the 8th and 4th centuries before Jesus. In the Jewish Tanakh they appear as a single book. In the Christian Old Testament the collection appears as twelve individual books, one for each of the prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. The name “Minor Prophets” goes back apparently to St. Augustine, who distinguished the 12 shorter prophetic books as prophetae minores distinguished from the four longer books of the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. There are other OT prophets whose stories are recounted in other OT books, e.g. Elijah and Elisha, recorded in Kings and Chronicles. Continue reading
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