Daily Readings - Fri Mar 09 2018

First Reading - Hosea 14.1-9

¹Israel, convert to the Lord your God. For you have been ruined by your own iniquity²Take these words with you and return to the Lord. And say to him, "Remove all iniquity and accept the good. And we will repay the calves of our lips³Assur will not save us; we will not ride on horses. Neither will we say any more, ‘The works of our hands are our gods,’ for those that are in you will have mercy on the orphan.⁴I will heal their contrition; I will love them spontaneously. For my wrath has been turned away from them⁵I will be like the dew; Israel will spring forth like the lily, and his root will spread out like that of the cedars of Lebanon⁶His branches will advance, and his glory will be like the olive tree, and his fragrance will be like that of the cedars of Lebanon⁷They will be converted, sitting in his shadow. They will live on wheat, and they will grow like a vine. His memorial will be like the wine of the cedars of Lebanon⁸Ephraim will say, "What are idols to me any more?" I will listen to him, and I will set him straight like a healthy spruce tree. Your fruit has been found by me⁹Who is wise and will understand this? Who has understanding and will know these things? For the ways of the Lord are straight, and the just will walk in them, but truly, the traitors will fall in them

Gospel - Mark 12.28b-34

Mark

Chapter 12

²⁸And one of the scribes, who had heard them arguing, drew near to him. And seeing that he had answered them well, he questioned him as to which was the first commandment of all²⁹And Jesus answered him: "For the first commandment of all is this: ‘Listen, O Israel. The Lord your God is one God³⁰And you shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart, and from your whole soul, and from your whole mind, and from your whole strength. This is the first commandment.³¹But the second is similar to it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.³²And the scribe said to him: Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth that there is one God, and there is no other beside him³³and that he should be loved from the whole heart, and from the whole understanding, and from the whole soul, and from the whole strength. And to love one’s neighbor as one’s self is greater than all holocausts and sacrifices.³⁴And Jesus, seeing that he had responded wisely, said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And after that, no one dared to question him

Sermon

In today’s readings, we are invited to reflect on the essence of our faith and our relationship with God and one another. The first reading from Hosea speaks of Israel’s return to the Lord, emphasizing repentance and the removal of iniquity. Hosea uses vivid imagery—dew, lilies, and cedars—to illustrate the healing and restoration that comes from turning back to God. This passage reminds us that our relationship with God is not static; it requires constant conversion and openness to divine grace. The second reading from Mark’s Gospel shifts our focus to the heart of the law. When asked about the greatest commandment, Jesus responds by citing Deuteronomy, calling us to love God with our whole being and our neighbor as ourselves. This exchange highlights the unity of love for God and love for others as the foundation of Christian life. The readings are deeply connected in their emphasis on the relational nature of faith. Hosea calls Israel to return to the Lord, not out of fear or obligation, but because God’s love is transformative and life-giving. Similarly, Jesus in Mark’s Gospel teaches that the greatest commandments are not about rituals or rules but about the quality of our love for God and neighbor. Together, these readings remind us that faith is not merely intellectual assent or external piety but a lived commitment to love and relationship. They challenge us to examine our hearts and actions, asking whether our lives reflect the love and mercy that God has shown us. As we apply these readings to our daily lives, let us consider where we may need to “return” to the Lord. Are there areas in our lives where we have wandered from God’s path? Do we allow ourselves to be transformed by His love? And how do we love our neighbors—those around us, whether they are easy to love or challenging? The moral lesson here is clear: our faith is both personal and relational. It calls us to deepen our intimacy with God and to live out that relationship in tangible ways of love and service to others. May we, like the scribe in the Gospel, respond wisely to God’s invitation, walking in the straight paths of the Lord, and may our lives bear fruit that reflects His love and truth.