Merciful notes
Seven-hundred and some years before Jesus walked this earth there was a preacher-man who was widely known. He wasn't known for his fancy-shiny suits, his wild hair-do's, or his televangelism empire. He was known for his uncompromising stance against paganism, and in particular it's sexual practices. Common among pagan temples were bands of temple prostitutes, to help aid it's worshippers in thier quest for divine exstacy. This prophet would rail againt the temple prositutes and sexual deviancy. This prophet would go on and on and on about the sexual sins of blaspheming people. This prophet's name was Hosea.
And he was doing just fine, thank you very much, until one day God spoke him and told him to marry - a prostitute. Can you see the faces of Hosea's congregation now? Can you hear what they said about him? The righteous sexual-sin-denouncing preacher-man marrying - a prostitute?!
But, in the face of all the laughs and jeers, God told him to marry her, and so he did. They had three children together in their early years, but, the family life wasn't what his wife, Gomer, was used to. And so, one day she went back to exactly what she was used to. She went back to the temple. Back to her boyfriends. Back to her clientelle.
Hosea could have turned his back on her forever. Who would have held that against him? Who would have tried to talk him out of it. The story of his ex-wife could have been the prelude to every sermon he ever preached for the rest of his life.
But, he didn't. He took her back. He brought her back into their home, their family, and their marriage.
If you put some distance between yourself and this story, it reads like a bad soap opera. It sounds like a cheap Sunday afternoon made-for-TV movie.
If you open yourself up though - if you put flesh and bones on these characters, this story becomes a story of pain, agony, shame, and humiliation. Set Hosea and Gomer down beside you, and you drown in the abyss of their lives.
First of all, the root of all prostitution is exploitation. Like today's young girls forced onto the street, Gomer was probably put there by an uncaring and heartless father (or other power hungry and greedy male) who was promised money for the sale of her. She was probably victimized at a very young age, and the wounds that were inflicted were so deep the healing balm needed was only that of heaven.
Hosea, was tossed around. His heart torn, and his fidelity challenged. Oh, the humiliation. Oh, the shame. But, the deepest heart breaking moment must have been when he realized that Gomer was just a mirror-reflection of himself. He may have been a preacher. He may have been a prophet. But, he was a sinner in need of the mercy of God too.
I imagine that's what drove him to take her back. Who was he to judge? Who was he to withhold mercy?
This story, is our story. Maybe ours is less remarkable and newsworthy. Maybe not. But, the story of Hosea and Gomer reminds us that the honest truth is that we're all Gomer - even Hosea. We're all sinners. We're all far short of where we want to be, and where God would like us to be.
This story is a story of mercy and grace. Grace being that which God gives us even when we don't deserve it. And mercy bring that which God doesn't give us when we do deserve it.
Hosea and Gomer remind us that God is the source of all mercy and grace.
Hosea and Gomer remind us that, because we're all Gomers, we're in desperate need of the mercy and grace He gives.
And Hosea reminds us that in turn we need to act with the same mercy and grace towards all humanity. For who are we, the recipiants of the gracious mercy of a gracious God, to withold mercy from another?
And he was doing just fine, thank you very much, until one day God spoke him and told him to marry - a prostitute. Can you see the faces of Hosea's congregation now? Can you hear what they said about him? The righteous sexual-sin-denouncing preacher-man marrying - a prostitute?!
But, in the face of all the laughs and jeers, God told him to marry her, and so he did. They had three children together in their early years, but, the family life wasn't what his wife, Gomer, was used to. And so, one day she went back to exactly what she was used to. She went back to the temple. Back to her boyfriends. Back to her clientelle.
Hosea could have turned his back on her forever. Who would have held that against him? Who would have tried to talk him out of it. The story of his ex-wife could have been the prelude to every sermon he ever preached for the rest of his life.
But, he didn't. He took her back. He brought her back into their home, their family, and their marriage.
If you put some distance between yourself and this story, it reads like a bad soap opera. It sounds like a cheap Sunday afternoon made-for-TV movie.
If you open yourself up though - if you put flesh and bones on these characters, this story becomes a story of pain, agony, shame, and humiliation. Set Hosea and Gomer down beside you, and you drown in the abyss of their lives.
First of all, the root of all prostitution is exploitation. Like today's young girls forced onto the street, Gomer was probably put there by an uncaring and heartless father (or other power hungry and greedy male) who was promised money for the sale of her. She was probably victimized at a very young age, and the wounds that were inflicted were so deep the healing balm needed was only that of heaven.
Hosea, was tossed around. His heart torn, and his fidelity challenged. Oh, the humiliation. Oh, the shame. But, the deepest heart breaking moment must have been when he realized that Gomer was just a mirror-reflection of himself. He may have been a preacher. He may have been a prophet. But, he was a sinner in need of the mercy of God too.
I imagine that's what drove him to take her back. Who was he to judge? Who was he to withhold mercy?
This story, is our story. Maybe ours is less remarkable and newsworthy. Maybe not. But, the story of Hosea and Gomer reminds us that the honest truth is that we're all Gomer - even Hosea. We're all sinners. We're all far short of where we want to be, and where God would like us to be.
This story is a story of mercy and grace. Grace being that which God gives us even when we don't deserve it. And mercy bring that which God doesn't give us when we do deserve it.
Hosea and Gomer remind us that God is the source of all mercy and grace.
Hosea and Gomer remind us that, because we're all Gomers, we're in desperate need of the mercy and grace He gives.
And Hosea reminds us that in turn we need to act with the same mercy and grace towards all humanity. For who are we, the recipiants of the gracious mercy of a gracious God, to withold mercy from another?
posted by Fr. Rick Morley at 6:53 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home