Tuesday 7 July 2020

Today is Tuesday the 7 July, in the 14th week of Ordinary Time.  

In God alone is my soul at rest. He alone is my rock, my strength. There are probably things on my mind as I try to pray, right now.  Things bothering me, worrying me, things I’ve got to do.   Those hassles and concerns may be important.  But for these few minutes, can I just put them on one side, and find a moment of peace for my soul?  A moment of rest with my God, my rock, my strength?  

Today’s reading is from the Prophet Hosea.  

Hosea 8:4-7, 11-13

They made kings, but not through me;
   they set up princes, but without my knowledge.
With their silver and gold they made idols
   for their own destruction.
Your calf is rejected, O Samaria.
   My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of innocence?
   For it is from Israel,
an artisan made it;
   it is not God.
The calf of Samaria
   shall be broken to pieces.
For they sow the wind,
   and they shall reap the whirlwind.
The standing grain has no heads,
   it shall yield no meal;
if it were to yield,
   foreigners would devour it.
When Ephraim multiplied altars to expiate sin,
   they became to him altars for sinning.
Though I write for him the multitude of my instructions,
   they are regarded as a strange thing.
Though they offer choice sacrifices,
   though they eat flesh,
   the Lord does not accept them.
Now he will remember their iniquity,
   and punish their sins;
   they shall return to Egypt.

Not every word or thought or action that seems religious is necessarily a good thing. How can you tell the difference between what comes from the good spirit and what comes from the bad spirit?  

It seems that Israel may have gone in for worshipping a Golden Calf; worshipping idols. Why might this have seemed crazy to the prophet?  

Now listen as the passage is read again, noticing particularly the phrase: “they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind”. What does this mean to you?  

Finally, and to bring together this period of prayer, try to express in your own words what you would like to say to God at this time.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.