God's Surprising Ways To Love Us
Commentary
Hosea 11:1-11
The First Lesson is drawn from a book which recounts stories of the career and teachings of the prophet Hosea, a ministry of the eighth century BC to the Northern Kingdom of Israel which closely followed the ministry of Amos. This was a time when Israel was suffering from a war with Assyria and was in virtual anarchy. The famous story of the prophet’s marriage to the prostitute Gomer and her forgiveness dramatizes the book’s dominant theme of divine compassion, love and hope (see Brevard Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, pp.378-379,383). There is much dispute about how and when this story was related to the prophet’s sayings, but the focus on hope seems consistent in the book.
The text begins with Yahweh speaking of Israel as a child He loved, having called his son out of Egypt (v. 1). The more he called Israel, he notes, the more the people practiced idolatry (v. 2). The Lord then claims that he taught Ephraim to walk and was lead with love. God is compared to one who lifts infants to his cheeks (vv. 3-4). (Ephraim is the tribe stemming from the region of Ephraim, twenty miles north of Jerusalem.) It is prophesied that Israel shall return in captivity to Egypt or Assyria, as they have not returned to Yahweh. He will not respond to their calls (vv. 5-7). Then follows Yahweh’s lament that he cannot give up his people, cannot treat them like Admah and Zeboiim (sites destroyed along with Sodom and Gomorrah [Genesis 19]), for his compassion is warm and tender (v. 8). There is a suggestion that God has changed his mind, as the “heart’ [leb] which is said to have recoiled is the seat of decision-making in ancient Hebrew cosmology. He promises not to destroy the people, not to execute wrath, for he is God. He calls himself the Holy One [qadosh, the one set apart] (v. 9). He prophesies that they will repent (go to the Lord), and then return them to their homes (vv. 10-11).
Many of us grow up with a view of God as all-powerful and never changing. This makes it difficult to understand texts like that one which seem to portray God as ready to reject Israel. Of course, it is clear from the lesson that God is determined not to give up on his people. But it seems that he might change his mind, operate differently in different situations. This insight challenges our typical view of God but opens the way to a more biblical picture. For in fact, there is evidence in scripture that God repents (changes his mind) (Genesis 1:6-7; Exodus 32:12-14; Psalm 106:45). Even in the New Testament, it is evident that God does not always get his way but needs to adapt (Mark 6 [esp. v. 7] and the whole fact that a new covenant was necessary when the old covenant was not working). No, God truly is like earthly fathers, unconditionally loving his children but still needing to cajole and punish in some instances. And sometimes when Plan A does not work, he finds the need to implement Plan B regarding love and discipline.
There is another aspect to this view of God’s limited, not absolutely authoritarian power. Sometimes administering punishment and discipline by earthly fathers is a cross to bear, the toughest part of parenting. Should we imagine the pain is any less from God when he renders the kind of tough love reported in the lesson? Yes, God suffers with his children when we suffer discipline and punishment. The God of Hosea and this text is surprisingly full of love for us after all, even to the point of forgiving spiritual prostitutes like Israel and us.
Colossians 3:1-11
The Second Lesson is part of a circular letter which much like Philippians, was either written by Paul from prison (4:3,10,18) late in his career or by a follower of Paul who had a hand in assembling the collection of his epistles. These conclusions follow from the fact that this epistle includes vocabulary and stylistic characteristics different from the indisputably Pauline writings. The letter addresses Christians in a town in Asia Minor (the most eastern part of modern-day Turkey) near Ephesus, whose church, though not likely founded by Paul, was basically in line with his teachings, though threatened by ascetic teachings (2:21,23), ritual practices rooted in Jewish traditions (2:16), and philosophical speculations (2:8,20), all of which were related to visionary insights and perhaps even to the heresy of Gnosticism. The lesson is part of a discussion of the Christian life.
Paul notes that having been raised with Christ, readers are urged to search the things that are above [ano] (v. 1). We seek the things above, he contends, for we have died and our lives are hidden [kekruptai] with Christ who is said to be life [zoe, motion, activity] (vv. 2-4). Colossians are exhorted to put to death all earthly fornication, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry) (v. 5). These behaviors are said to be why the wrath of God is coming (v. 6). Living with these earthly behaviors is said to be the ways followed by the Colossians (v. 7). Now they must rid themselves of such things (including anger, slander, abusive language (v. 8). Hearers are exhorted not to lie to one another since they stripped off the old self and have clothed themselves with the new self, which is renewed according to the image of God the Creator (vv. 9-10). In that renewal, differences between Jew and Greek, slave and free, are abolished, for Christ is all in all (v. 11).
Most Christians, even the ones hearing this sermon, have the idea that Christians should be better people, not all caught up in sin. That is part of the reason why the charge of Christians as hypocrites regularly gets floated (see the 2008 LifeWay Research indicating 72% of Americans think churches are full of hypocrites). Paul seems to give into these critiques, but also gives us some ammunition to defend the faith. He notes how the faithful remain surrounded and threatened by sin. No, we can’t actually quit sinning in this life, even after we have been made new. Our newness really is hidden (v. 3)!
Of course, grace always has its way over sin in the long run (eschatologically). And so the Christian is “simultaneously saint and sinner.” But any further sin does not wipe out his /her “saint” side, does not disqualify the faithful from salvation. Christians, it seems, then are ”forgiven hypocrites” – an interesting rejoinder to critics of the faith. But now fully aware of our sin, the pressure is off for Christians, as we may live joyously in the knowledge that even our sins do not negate the miracles God has done and continues to do in us.
Luke 12:13-21
The gospel is drawn from the second installment of a two-part history of the church traditionally attributed to Luke, a physician and Gentile associate of Paul (Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11; Philemon 24). Along with Acts, the author’s intention was to stress the universal mission of the church (Acts. 1:8).
The lesson reports on Jesus’ parable of the rich fool. The account is unique to Luke. This critique of wealth is not surprising given Luke’s special concern about the poor (Eduard Schweizer, The Good News According to Luke, p.262). The story begins when someone in a crowd asks Jesus to tell his brother to divide the family inheritance with him (v. 13). Questions like this about inheritance laws would commonly be posed to teachers/rabbis. Jesus asks who sent him to be arbitrator/judge [dikasten] (v. 14). He next issues a warning to be on guard against greed, for one’s life (presumably, full human experience) does not consist in an abundance of possessions (v. 15). The parable follows pertaining to a rich man whose land produces abundantly (v. 16). He wonders what to do with no place to store his crops (v. 17). He decides to put down his barns and build larger ones in which to store his grain (v. 18). Then the rich man would feel he had ample goods and could relax, eat, and make merry (v. 19; cf. Ecclesiastes 8:15). God calls him a fool, for that night he was to die and then who would own what was prepared (v. 20)? So it is with those who store treasures for themselves, but are not right toward God (v. 21).
You can’t take it with you. That seems to be the message of the parable. This is a text inviting sermons on stressing that nothing (not even the big business deal ahead) is as important as getting things right with God, and that coming to terms with the Lord is urgent. Of course, help the congregation to see that Jesus’ point is not that we should renounce all smart business investments. Jesus merely wants us to stop going back to business as usual, but to look for hints of his presence in new economic ideas which might promise creative solutions to all the injustices and poverty which presently plague us, to provide as Reinhold Niebuhr once suggested (Justice & Mercy, pp.67-68) economic models which incentivize sharing goods and services, models not unlike the Norwegian system where 87% of GDP is owned by everyone in government-owned businesses. According to this parable, the bottom-line is not your profit margin but your relationship with God and others. God surprisingly reveals to us that life is even better when it is not all about profits, but instead about being showered by his love and love for others.
The texts all encourage sermons aimed at waking up the congregation, to get the flock not to take the majestic and surprising love and the character of the Christian life for granted. In fact, we learn from the lessons that God’s love is always surprising, and sometimes that is because it comes or manifests itself in surprising ways. Making those points clearly in the sermons might lead to more excitement about the faith and the opportunities it creates.
The First Lesson is drawn from a book which recounts stories of the career and teachings of the prophet Hosea, a ministry of the eighth century BC to the Northern Kingdom of Israel which closely followed the ministry of Amos. This was a time when Israel was suffering from a war with Assyria and was in virtual anarchy. The famous story of the prophet’s marriage to the prostitute Gomer and her forgiveness dramatizes the book’s dominant theme of divine compassion, love and hope (see Brevard Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture, pp.378-379,383). There is much dispute about how and when this story was related to the prophet’s sayings, but the focus on hope seems consistent in the book.
The text begins with Yahweh speaking of Israel as a child He loved, having called his son out of Egypt (v. 1). The more he called Israel, he notes, the more the people practiced idolatry (v. 2). The Lord then claims that he taught Ephraim to walk and was lead with love. God is compared to one who lifts infants to his cheeks (vv. 3-4). (Ephraim is the tribe stemming from the region of Ephraim, twenty miles north of Jerusalem.) It is prophesied that Israel shall return in captivity to Egypt or Assyria, as they have not returned to Yahweh. He will not respond to their calls (vv. 5-7). Then follows Yahweh’s lament that he cannot give up his people, cannot treat them like Admah and Zeboiim (sites destroyed along with Sodom and Gomorrah [Genesis 19]), for his compassion is warm and tender (v. 8). There is a suggestion that God has changed his mind, as the “heart’ [leb] which is said to have recoiled is the seat of decision-making in ancient Hebrew cosmology. He promises not to destroy the people, not to execute wrath, for he is God. He calls himself the Holy One [qadosh, the one set apart] (v. 9). He prophesies that they will repent (go to the Lord), and then return them to their homes (vv. 10-11).
Many of us grow up with a view of God as all-powerful and never changing. This makes it difficult to understand texts like that one which seem to portray God as ready to reject Israel. Of course, it is clear from the lesson that God is determined not to give up on his people. But it seems that he might change his mind, operate differently in different situations. This insight challenges our typical view of God but opens the way to a more biblical picture. For in fact, there is evidence in scripture that God repents (changes his mind) (Genesis 1:6-7; Exodus 32:12-14; Psalm 106:45). Even in the New Testament, it is evident that God does not always get his way but needs to adapt (Mark 6 [esp. v. 7] and the whole fact that a new covenant was necessary when the old covenant was not working). No, God truly is like earthly fathers, unconditionally loving his children but still needing to cajole and punish in some instances. And sometimes when Plan A does not work, he finds the need to implement Plan B regarding love and discipline.
There is another aspect to this view of God’s limited, not absolutely authoritarian power. Sometimes administering punishment and discipline by earthly fathers is a cross to bear, the toughest part of parenting. Should we imagine the pain is any less from God when he renders the kind of tough love reported in the lesson? Yes, God suffers with his children when we suffer discipline and punishment. The God of Hosea and this text is surprisingly full of love for us after all, even to the point of forgiving spiritual prostitutes like Israel and us.
Colossians 3:1-11
The Second Lesson is part of a circular letter which much like Philippians, was either written by Paul from prison (4:3,10,18) late in his career or by a follower of Paul who had a hand in assembling the collection of his epistles. These conclusions follow from the fact that this epistle includes vocabulary and stylistic characteristics different from the indisputably Pauline writings. The letter addresses Christians in a town in Asia Minor (the most eastern part of modern-day Turkey) near Ephesus, whose church, though not likely founded by Paul, was basically in line with his teachings, though threatened by ascetic teachings (2:21,23), ritual practices rooted in Jewish traditions (2:16), and philosophical speculations (2:8,20), all of which were related to visionary insights and perhaps even to the heresy of Gnosticism. The lesson is part of a discussion of the Christian life.
Paul notes that having been raised with Christ, readers are urged to search the things that are above [ano] (v. 1). We seek the things above, he contends, for we have died and our lives are hidden [kekruptai] with Christ who is said to be life [zoe, motion, activity] (vv. 2-4). Colossians are exhorted to put to death all earthly fornication, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry) (v. 5). These behaviors are said to be why the wrath of God is coming (v. 6). Living with these earthly behaviors is said to be the ways followed by the Colossians (v. 7). Now they must rid themselves of such things (including anger, slander, abusive language (v. 8). Hearers are exhorted not to lie to one another since they stripped off the old self and have clothed themselves with the new self, which is renewed according to the image of God the Creator (vv. 9-10). In that renewal, differences between Jew and Greek, slave and free, are abolished, for Christ is all in all (v. 11).
Most Christians, even the ones hearing this sermon, have the idea that Christians should be better people, not all caught up in sin. That is part of the reason why the charge of Christians as hypocrites regularly gets floated (see the 2008 LifeWay Research indicating 72% of Americans think churches are full of hypocrites). Paul seems to give into these critiques, but also gives us some ammunition to defend the faith. He notes how the faithful remain surrounded and threatened by sin. No, we can’t actually quit sinning in this life, even after we have been made new. Our newness really is hidden (v. 3)!
Of course, grace always has its way over sin in the long run (eschatologically). And so the Christian is “simultaneously saint and sinner.” But any further sin does not wipe out his /her “saint” side, does not disqualify the faithful from salvation. Christians, it seems, then are ”forgiven hypocrites” – an interesting rejoinder to critics of the faith. But now fully aware of our sin, the pressure is off for Christians, as we may live joyously in the knowledge that even our sins do not negate the miracles God has done and continues to do in us.
Luke 12:13-21
The gospel is drawn from the second installment of a two-part history of the church traditionally attributed to Luke, a physician and Gentile associate of Paul (Colossians 4:14; 2 Timothy 4:11; Philemon 24). Along with Acts, the author’s intention was to stress the universal mission of the church (Acts. 1:8).
The lesson reports on Jesus’ parable of the rich fool. The account is unique to Luke. This critique of wealth is not surprising given Luke’s special concern about the poor (Eduard Schweizer, The Good News According to Luke, p.262). The story begins when someone in a crowd asks Jesus to tell his brother to divide the family inheritance with him (v. 13). Questions like this about inheritance laws would commonly be posed to teachers/rabbis. Jesus asks who sent him to be arbitrator/judge [dikasten] (v. 14). He next issues a warning to be on guard against greed, for one’s life (presumably, full human experience) does not consist in an abundance of possessions (v. 15). The parable follows pertaining to a rich man whose land produces abundantly (v. 16). He wonders what to do with no place to store his crops (v. 17). He decides to put down his barns and build larger ones in which to store his grain (v. 18). Then the rich man would feel he had ample goods and could relax, eat, and make merry (v. 19; cf. Ecclesiastes 8:15). God calls him a fool, for that night he was to die and then who would own what was prepared (v. 20)? So it is with those who store treasures for themselves, but are not right toward God (v. 21).
You can’t take it with you. That seems to be the message of the parable. This is a text inviting sermons on stressing that nothing (not even the big business deal ahead) is as important as getting things right with God, and that coming to terms with the Lord is urgent. Of course, help the congregation to see that Jesus’ point is not that we should renounce all smart business investments. Jesus merely wants us to stop going back to business as usual, but to look for hints of his presence in new economic ideas which might promise creative solutions to all the injustices and poverty which presently plague us, to provide as Reinhold Niebuhr once suggested (Justice & Mercy, pp.67-68) economic models which incentivize sharing goods and services, models not unlike the Norwegian system where 87% of GDP is owned by everyone in government-owned businesses. According to this parable, the bottom-line is not your profit margin but your relationship with God and others. God surprisingly reveals to us that life is even better when it is not all about profits, but instead about being showered by his love and love for others.
The texts all encourage sermons aimed at waking up the congregation, to get the flock not to take the majestic and surprising love and the character of the Christian life for granted. In fact, we learn from the lessons that God’s love is always surprising, and sometimes that is because it comes or manifests itself in surprising ways. Making those points clearly in the sermons might lead to more excitement about the faith and the opportunities it creates.
