Links for today’s readings:
Apr 8 Read: Hosea 9 Listen: (2:52) Read: Matthew 12 Listen: (6:41)
Scripture Focus: Hosea 9:1
1 Do not rejoice, Israel;
do not be jubilant like the other nations.
For you have been unfaithful to your God;
you love the wages of a prostitute
at every threshing floor.
Reflection: Flimsy Farce of Faith
By Erin Newton
In the 2004 movie, Mean Girls, one of the characters yells, “She doesn’t even go here!” in response to a girl taking part in a community apology though she had never actually been part of that community. The scene has become a meme for signaling outsiders. While the scene is comical, what does it mean when your claim to belong to a group is revealed as a lie?
Israel, in the book of Hosea, is criticized for their false worship. They claim to be followers of God yet they “prostitute” themselves by serving other gods. They put on the label of “God-follower,” but their actions do not live up to it. They want the benefits of being in that community—the festivals and feasts—but do not want to live the life a God-follower identity requires.
“Do not rejoice.” God dampens Israel’s festivities and jubilant celebrations. While other nations are happy and exuberant, Israel is chastised for their false identity. God hates celebration when one’s life is a charade.
Many of those who don the title “Christian” see the identity marker as a way to gain clout, to feel more righteous, to gain a sense of belonging, or to utilize it for some other purpose. But claiming to follow God while truly serving other interests (power, wealth, self, status, etc.) is a flimsy farce rejected by God himself.
God desires that our inward identity match our outward identity. If we claim to follow God, we must align our outward actions with inward faith. Matthew 5.23-24 says, “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” God rejects outward religious actions without inward righteousness.
If we claim to belong with Christ, we are invited into his celebrations. Hosea’s marriage to an unfaithful partner is an allegory of what it means to say you are a Christian while not truly committing yourself to Christ.
Let us not read this as a call to embrace only a life of non-rejoicing. Jesus proclaims, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10.10). Life and joy are the gifts of following God. But claiming the joys of a life in Christ without living a Christ-like life is hypocrisy.
Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. — Matthew 5.6
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.
Read more: Confessing Hostility—Guided Prayer 2
Prophets spoke against violence. We called them foolish.
People were inspired to protest. We called them maniacs.
Read more: The Gospel Heist
A good heist restores freedom or justice. The gospel is a heist which restores both.