Wednesday 9 July 2020

Today is Wednesday the 8 July in the 14th week of Ordinary Time.  

The monks of the Abbey of Keur Moussa sing: O all you works of the Lord, O bless the Lord, To him be highest glory and praise for ever.  Wherever it is I am right now, what works of the Lord can I see?  Perhaps the sky, the clouds?  Perhaps hills or fields, or a horse or a dog, or a tree?  Perhaps it’s just the inside of my house that I can see?  Perhaps another human being.  Can I imagine all these things, the works of the Lord, praising God, their Creator, now?  And can I do the same myself?  

Today’s reading is from the Prophet Hosea.  

Hosea 10:1-3, 7-8, 12

Israel is a luxuriant vine
   that yields its fruit.
The more his fruit increased
   the more altars he built;
as his country improved,
   he improved his pillars.
Their heart is false;
   now they must bear their guilt.
The Lord will break down their altars,
   and destroy their pillars.
For now they will say:
   ‘We have no king,
for we do not fear the Lord,
   and a king—what could he do for us?’
Samaria’s king shall perish
   like a splinter on the face of the waters.
The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel,
   shall be destroyed.
Thorn and thistle shall grow up
   on their altars.
They shall say to the mountains, Cover us,
   and to the hills, Fall on us.
Sow for yourselves righteousness;
   reap steadfast love;
   break up your fallow ground;
for it is time to seek the Lord,
   that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.

The imagery used in this passage is drawn from agriculture; but it is a bit discouraging. What has gone so very wrong?  

What do you think is significant about the prophet saying that “the Lord will break down their altars”? What is the Lord trying to do here?  

Now listen once more to the passage, and ask yourself what a farmer in Israel might have made of it…  

At the end of this passage, Hosea says “it is time to seek the Lord”.  Spend the remaining time of this prayer doing just that. See if there is a prayer that comes to your lips which might enable you to tell God where you are at this moment….

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.