Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Hosea 14:2–10
Today, we conclude our encounter with Hosea on a positive note.
After all the condemnations, after all the predictions of destruction, the Lord and Israel reconcile.
Just as Gomer finally decided not to run after the one with whom she was infatuated,
Israel decided not to worship idols anymore.
And just as Hosea renewed his relationship with the woman he loved,
the Lord takes Israel back in love.
Israel’s repentance also affects politics.
In Hosea’s time, there were two factions:
one sought an alliance with Assyria,
the other with Egypt.
But the people finally realize that neither of them can save us.
We know that repentance means a new way of thinking
and a change in the direction of our lives.
But turning back to the Lord is not confined to personal matters.
It embraces all spheres of human life,
including politics.
This makes it very sensitive
and dangerous.
Many Christian martyrs preached this all-encompassing repentance
and paid for it with their lives.
It is not only about speaking truth to power.
It is also about awakening contemporary believers
from our compliance and indifference
to what is going on in the world.
The promise connected with such repentance
is revival, fruitfulness, and abundance.
Israel shall become like a fruitful vine,
like an olive tree,
and like a verdant cypress.
Their return to the Lord will turn their lives around.
Hosea’s prophecy had an impact
on the community of Jesus’ followers.
Our Lord used Hosea’s words to stress the primacy of mercy over sacrifices.
Peter and Paul used them as proof of God’s plan
to include the Gentiles as part of His people.
And Saint Paul used the prophet’s words
to mock the defeat of death:
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
At the heart of Hosea’s message
is the revelation of God’s broken heart.
God loves us so much
that He is willing to forgive all our crimes and iniquities.
The way we respond to that love
will shape our future.
Biblical Reflections on the Gospel of Matthew
Scripture Attribution
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993
the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of
Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Content License
© 2025 Krakus.
Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 (Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial).