Reflections on Hosea 6:1-6 / Luke 18:9-14
by Frank Savadera, SJ
What
to do with you Ephariam? What to do with
you Judah? Yahweh seems to be expressing extreme DISSATISFACTION and even
FRUSTRATION. Your PIETY is like morning dew that early passes away, that is
ARTIFICIAL/ FLEETING. God is getting
really frustrated. Why? There is a God who sees us, sees our GIFTS
and GREAT POTENTIALS. And the dissatisfaction comes from knowing that we can do
more than how we are living and spending our lives right now. Imagine God listening to the prayer of this
very pious Pharisee, who prays: ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the
rest of humanity —greedy,
dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week,
and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ As he listens, God may be scratching
his head in DESPAIR. There is a God who
sees our GIFTS and GREAT POTENTIALS and who believes that we can DO MORE than
we are actually exerting.
It
is this God, who sees GREAT POTENTIAL in us, who also VENTURES to PURIFY US. For this reason … and from HOSEA, we have a
picture of God who smites (he who strikes/ trashes them (Ephraim/ Judah)
through the prophets. I slay them by the
words of my mouth, He says. We often times encounter an image of a VIOLENT
GOD whom we believe … if we must … is NOT REALLY A VIOLENT & PUNISHING GOD
per se … but someone who STANDS for GREAT PURITY, GREAT SINCERITY, GOODNESS and
whose nature goes against anything that is EVIL and UNTRUE.
The
first word that came to me when I read Hosea this morning is “PAMBIHIRA.” What kind of God is this? It is he who rents (tears/cracks), yet also one who heals; he strikes but also binds our wounds … he revives us
… so we may live in his presence. He comes
to us like the rain, like spring rain that waters the earth.” …. and his judgment
shines forth like the light of day!
PAMBIHIRA naman talaga yan. Upon
seeing our GREAT POTENTIAL and the way we often times MISDIRECT our lives … GOD
STEPS IN to strike us and purify us … and for what purpose? TO HELP US TO BE THE BEST PERSONS WE CAN
BE? He must also be looking at and hearing us, the Pharisee in the Gospel and saying PAMBIHIRA. I want you to be the BEST PERSON that you can
be. You are more much more than the
person you see in yourself.
It
is for this purpose that we are given the image of the sinful tax collector who
makes an effort to enter the synagogue and pray amidst the PRYING-suspicious
eyes of the Pharisees. He who stood off at a distance and with great humility …
would not even raise his eyes but beat his breast and prays and begs: ‘O God,
be merciful to me a sinner.’
What
saves us therefore from our DESTRUCTIVE SELVES?
Our readings today are clear: God
desires sincere LOVE in our hearts not sacrifice. He wants us to develop a TRUE KNOWLEDGE of
him; knowledge of God not burnt offerings, and the disposition of the tax
collector who despite his sinfulness learns to come before the Lord, beats his breast, asks for forgiveness and accepts the mercy of the Lord.
