Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Scripture Readings

We hear from the prophet Hosea all this week. Hosea got the attention of God's people by means of his marriage with risque Gomer, a woman of ill repute.

Humorist writer Fredrick Buechner's offering on Gomer is as follows:

She was always good company-a little heavy with the lipstick maybe, a little less than choosy about men and booze, a little loud, but great at a party and always good for a laugh. Then the prophet Hosea came along wearing a sandwich board that read "The End is at Hand" on one side and "Watch Out" on the other.

The first time he asked her to marry him, she thought he was kidding. The second time she knew he was serious but thought he was crazy. The third time she said yes. He wasn't exactly a swinger, but he had a kind face, and he was generous, and he wasn't all that crazier than everybody else. Besides, any fool could see he loved her.

Give or take a little, she even loved him back for a while, and they had three children whom Hosea named with queer names like Not-pitied-for-God-will-no-Ionger-pity-Israel-now-that-it's-gone-to-the-dogs so that every time the roll was called at school, Hosea would be scoring a prophetic bulls-eye in absentia. But everybody could see the marriage wasn't going to last, and it didn't.

While Hosea was off hitting the sawdust trail, Gomer took to hitting as many night spots as she could squeeze into a night, and any resemblance between her next batch of children and Hosea was purely coincidental. It almost killed him, of course. Every time he raised a hand to her, he burst into tears. Every time she raised one to him, he was the one who ended up apologizing.

He tried locking her out of the house a few times when she wasn't in by five in the morning, but he always opened the door when she finally showed up and helped get her to bed if she couldn't see straight enough to get there herself. Then one day she didn't show up at all.

He swore that this time he was through with her for keeps, but of course he wasn't. When he finally found her, she was lying passed out in a highly specialized establishment located above an adult bookstore, and he had to pay the management plenty to let her out of her contract. She'd lost her front teeth and picked up some scars you had to see to believe, but Hosea had her back again and that seemed to be all that mattered.

He changed his sandwich board to read "God is love" on one side and "There's no end to it" on the other, and when he stood on the street corner belting out

How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, O Israel?
For I am God and not man,
The Holy One in your midst.  (Hosea 11:8)

This love story is our story. Even as we are faithless, God remains ever faithful.

• If we are enslaved, God buys us back.
• If we are lost, God finds us.
• If we are ashamed, God covers us.
• If we wander off, God brings us home.
• If we give up on the Lord, God will not give up on us.
• No matter where we are, God sees who we are, and loves us warts and all.

Through the drama of Hosea and Gomer, God tenderly touches us and whispers, "Come home to me my love. When you grow weary of wandering and confusion, I'll be there to draw you to my heart.”

Yes, the love of Hosea for risque Gomer was a scandal. And so is God's love for us.

A scandal everlasting.

Timothy J. Cronin