Daily Readings - Fri Mar 09 2018
Hosea
1Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.2Take with you words and return to the LORD; say to him, "Take away all iniquity; accept what is good, and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips.3Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride on horses; and we will say no more, 'Our God,' to the work of our hands. In you the orphan finds mercy."4I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them.5I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon;6his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon.7They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the grain; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.8O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you. I am like an evergreen cypress; from me comes your fruit.9Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the LORD are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.
Mark
28And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the most important of all?"29Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.30And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'31The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."32And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him.33And to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."34And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
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.