RBWords

     The story of God's relationship with Israel is filled with problems of infidelity!  The comparatively stark monotheism of Jewish faith with its unifying force in the desert seemed much less attractive once the Chosen People got to the "promised land" and discovered Canaanite religion with its agricultural fertility emphasis!  Baal (in various manifestations) and temple prostitution were constant temptations that Israel found difficult to resist!  In Hosea the prophet, we find some rather vivid language about spousal relationships.  Among other things, at God's command, Hosea marries a temple prostitute named Gomer!  The idea seems to be to woo her away from her bad way of life!  God will lead Israel back into the desert and "speak to her heart."

     This very personal imagery often came to life in my years of campus ministry.  Time and again I would witness students who came with considerable religious faith and devotion and who would find the freedom and temptations of campus life too strong to resist!  I would hear them say in my office:  "Why can't I do this or that?  Why is God so demanding?"  There was no way to "protect" them from what they would discover is a very demanding "world" which would consume them and take away the strength their faith could give them.  The alternatives presented by secular values became another form of temple prostitution.  This is not just a "sow their wild oats" thing because I know from my experience in working with marriage annulments that habits formed in college days carried over into marriages with subsequent sorrows for spouses and for their children.  

     Discipleship and discipline go together!  We can indeed have a very close relationship with God that can shape our lives and give them purpose.  A spousal image of fidelity is a good way to look at it, but it reminds us that marriage requires discipline and an everyday commitment, just as religious life does in a monastery or priory.   Putting faith first means more than just going to church!  It means a life and everyday decisions are shaped by fidelity to our relationship to God.  It is comforting to know from Hosea that God will try to reclaim us when we go astray, but we have only ourselves to blame when we ignore the prophets and the voice of God and go our merry way to other "gods."  AMEN