Replies

RSV

From: Hosea 14:2-10 (New American Bible)
Hosea 14:1-9 (Revised Standard Version & New Vulgate)

Call to Conversion

[1] Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. [2] Take with you words and return to the LORD; say to him, “Take away all iniquity; accept that which is good and we will render the fruit of our lips. [3] Assyria shall not save us, we will not ride upon horses; and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’ to the work of our hands. In thee the orphan finds mercy.”

[4] I will heal their faithlessness, I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. [5] I will be as the dew to Israel; he shall blossom as the lily, he shall strike root as the poplar; [6] his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive and his fragrance like Lebanon. [7] They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow, they shall flourish as a garden; they shall blossom as the vine, their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon. [8] O 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.

A Word to the Wise

[9] Whoever 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.

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Commentary:

14:1-8. The last oracle follows the pattern of the whole book: the denunciation of Israel’s infidelity is followed by a blessing from the Lord. This. happened in the episode, from Hosea’s personal life at the start of the book (1:2-2:1), in the central poems (2:2-23), and in the first part of the oracles (4:1-11:11). The novelty of this oracle lies in the fact that previously salvation and forgiveness were offered by the Lord spontaneously and generously without Israel’s being asked for anything; whereas here (vv. 1-3) the prophet entreats Israel to be converted so that God may heal her unfaithfulness (v. 4).

In the oracle, both the prophet (vv. 1-3) and the Lord (vv. 4-8) speak. The words of the prophet are a call to conversion. (v. 1) and a prayer proper to a penitential liturgy (vv. 2-3) in which the sins of Israel are expressly mentioned—reliance on foreign pacts rather than on the Lord, and revering man-made idols as if they were God.

The Lord’s, words (vv. 4-8) benevolently offer the people reconciliation and a cure for their unfaithfulness. They speak of a golden age of love between the Lord and his people; all sorts of attractive imagery are used: the dew, the fragrance of Lebanon, the grain (note w) and the vine stand for the good things that the Lord, and not the Baals, bestows on the people; the Lord is depicted as a cypress, evergreen; that is, he is stable and enduring. So, the book’s conclusion is clear: since the Lord loves them so deeply there is nothing that the people can do but respond: “The love of the Beloved or, to put it better, the Beloved who is love, loves only love and faithfulness. Do not resist his love. Can we stop loving the one who is Love in person? Can, the one who is Love by his very nature be unloved?” (St Bernard, “In Cantica Canticorum”, 83, 5).

14:9. The last verses of the book are a piece of wisdom writing. They are somewhat reminiscent of Deuteronomy 32:4, Psalm 107:43 and Proverbs 4:7. They invite us to read the book by applying its message to our own circumstances.

RSV

From: Matthew 10:16-23

Jesus’ Instructions to the Apostles

(Jesus said to His disciples,) [16] “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. [17] Beware of men; for they will deliver you up to councils, and flog you in their synagogues, [18] and you will be dragged before governors and kings for My sake, to bear testimony before them and the Gentiles. [19] When they deliver you up, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour; [20] for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. [21] Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; [22] and you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. [23] When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel, before the Son of Man comes.”

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Commentary:

16-23. The instructions and warnings Jesus gives here apply right through the history of the Church. It is difficult for the world to understand the way of God. Sometimes there will be persecutions, sometimes indifference to the Gospel or failure to understand. Genuine commitment to Jesus always involves effort—which is not surprising, because Jesus Himself was a sign of contradiction; indeed, if that were not the experience of a Christian, he would have to ask himself whether he was not in fact a worldly person. There are certain worldly things a Christian cannot compromise about, no matter how much they are in fashion. Therefore, Christian life inevitably involves nonconformity with anything that goes against faith and morals (cf. Romans 12:2). It is not surprising that a Christian’s life often involves choosing between heroism and treachery. Difficulties of this sort should not make us afraid: we are not alone, we can count on the powerful help of our Father God to give us strength and daring.

20. Here Jesus teaches the completely supernatural character of the witness He asks His disciples to bear. The documented accounts of a host of Christian martyrs prove that He has kept this promise: they bear eloquent witness to the serenity and wisdom of often uneducated people, some of them scarcely more than children.

The teaching contained in this verse provides the basis for the fortitude and confidence a Christian should have whenever he has to profess his faith in difficult situations. He will not be alone, for the Holy Spirit will give him words of divine wisdom.

23. In interpreting this text, the first thing is to reject the view of certain rationalists who argue that Jesus was convinced that soon He would come in glory and the world would come to an end. That interpretation is clearly at odds with many passages of the Gospel and the New Testament. Clearly, Jesus refers to Himself when He speaks of the “Son of Man”, whose glory will be manifested in this way. The most cogent interpretation is that Jesus is referring here, primarily, to the historical event of the first Jewish war against Rome, which ended with the destruction of Jerusalem and of the temple in the year 70, and which led to the scattering of the Jewish people. But this event, which would occur a few years after Jesus’ death, is an image or a prophetic symbol of the end of the world (cf. note on Matthew 24:1).

The coming of Christ in glory will happen at a time which God has not revealed. Uncertainty about the end of the world helps Christians and the Church to be ever-vigilant.