Return to the LORD is the plea of Hosea. In our readings this week and in beautiful and loving language the prophet has been encouraging Israel to come home, to leave the idols and their unfaithfulness behind. God, through Hosea, promises to heal, to love, to be “like dew for Israel” (Hosea 14: 5-6). God does not approve of Israel’s unfaithfulness, while at the same time, does not stop loving his children. With gentleness, he seeks to let his grace fall on them like the dewfall, he seeks to wash his children clean, to nourish them and satiate their thirst, to give them strength, and be the source of their life.
Jesus has come to give a visible face to the presence and promise of our God’s loving presence. He healed, cast out demons, consoled, and preached with authority. He too, in the prophetic tradition, called for repentance. Even though God, even while in the act of committing an egregious sin, never stops loving us and calling us back with tender chords of love. It is we who cut ourselves off from his love when we choose anything and anyone over him. God must be first and we must spend time with him to know and grow in our relationship with him. The wonderful gift of our repentance and letting go of our control is that which is not of God is burned away like dross, and what we give to God is purified and made whole.
By trusting in and surrendering our lives to Jesus, we will experience transformation and healing, and we too like the Apostles will be sent to share the Good News of how he has been working in our lives. Not when we become perfect, but right now, even in small ways. Simply as we receive the love of Jesus, we share. We too, like Hosea, Jesus, and the Apostles will face opposition and even be persecuted for doing so. Jesus will protect and strengthen us when opposition arises when we remember to turn to him. And as we do, he will send the Holy Spirit to guide and give us the words to speak.
When we speak the words of God faithfully, that is sufficient. We are not to convince or command, but instruct and invite. As St. Bernadette of Soubirous said when pressured about the validity of her experience with our Mother Mary, the Immaculate Conception, “My job is to inform, not convince.” We do well to follow her lead. The Holy Spirit will work through the seeds we have planted. Let us resist the temptation to impress and instead express the love we have received.
Jesus continually gives himself to us in the Eucharist. When we confess our sins and shortcomings in the confessional and before altar, then we can receive the grace offered by Jesus in his Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. We receive him and so become Christ bearers to a weary and worn world in need of repentance and hungering to experience the gentle love and forgiveness of God our Father.
Photo: May we, like Mary, receive and share Jesus with others.
Spiritual Stepping Stones 