Our readings highlight the idea of judgment and mercy—God’s judgment and mercy. When others are hostile to us Christians, Jesus says in so many words: Don’t retaliate—just leave them for God’s judgment. And that’s pretty much a threat, based on the fiery end Sodom and Gomorrah experienced. So God’s judgment sounds pretty harsh.
But the Prophet Hosea describes God’s judgment in a very different
way. He talks about the mercy of God,
the forgiveness of God, and even God’s tenderness. It’s almost like our readings today are
talking about two different Gods; one who’s wrathful and the other who’s gentle
and quick to forgive. But, of course,
there’s only one God.
So either God is unstable or there’s something else at play
here. And what’s at play is the
differences in the human characters in these stories. As we know, there are people who are
believers—more or less; who have accepted faith in God to some degree. To these people (which is most people) God is
slow to anger and quick to forgive. They
(we) are like children who are learning; and we don’t get overly angry with
kids who are trying to learn.
But there are others who outright reject God and everything
God is about: truth, goodness, beauty, harmony, relationship, etc. They flat out reject it. To those people God’s judgment would be
harsh. After all, if someone rejects the
very Spirit of love, what else would they experience but the absence of
love. If someone rejects the very Spirit
of truth and beauty, what else would they experience but the opposite of those
things.
God responds to us according to how we respond to him. If we let ourselves be his children, let he
will treat us as children: with love, tenderness, and an abundance of
forgiveness. May we today renew
ourselves as children of God, sons and daughters of God who wants nothing more
than to love and be loved in return.
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