Sunday, July 25, 2010
Hosea 1:2-10
“Convicted By A Baby?”
Franklin Circle Christian Church
Rev. Allen V. Harris

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So… exactly how far would you go to make a point?

Hosea was a prophet from the northern kingdom of Israel (contrasted with the southern kingdom of Judah) whose prophetic ministry began around 750 BCE and continued until just before the fall of Samaria, the capital of Israel, in 721 BCE. Israel had enjoyed much prosperity and plentiful trade with surrounding nations. However, as often happens in such good times, this prosperity contributed toward a downward spiral of injustice and immorality, and an increasing reliance upon military power and force. Religious syncretism, which is the borrowing of ideas and practices from many different religions, continued to lure the people into the comforting thought that they could worship Yahweh and also pay homage to the Canaanite gods, including Ba’al. Following the earlier Northern prophet, Elijah, Hosea held to the prophetic word that loyalty to Yahweh/God was not to be divided or shared. (1)

In response to his people’s idolatry, and following God’s command to do so, Hosea takes a wife, Gomer, who is a prostitute. This was to portray in a most vivid way that the people of God had become “adulterous” in their worshipping of other Gods. Whether or not Hosea’s marriage to Gomer is metaphorical or actual doesn’t matter: his point is well taken. Our God is a jealous God, and God does not want our affections shared.

But if that weren’t enough, Hosea and Gomer have three children, all whose names embody the judgment of God. The first child is Jesreel, whose name means, “God Sows,” to illustrate the punishment the people of Israel are soon to reap. Can you imagine being called “You Reap What You Sow!?” The second child is named Lo-ruhama, or “not pitied,” to signify an end to God’s pity and forgiveness of the people, Israel. Can you imagine naming your child “Pitiful,” or more aptly, “Pity-less?” And finally, in case the message weren’t clear, the third child is named “Lo-ammi,” or “not my people.” It would be as if you named your child, “God-Forsaken.”

“Hey, You-Sow-What-You-Reap! Go outside and get your brother, Pitiful, and your sister, “God-Forsaken” and ya’ll wash your hands, ‘cause your mother, Prostitute, has our dinner ready!”

Get the picture?

Now, you should be asking yourself about now, “Why, in God’s name, would Pastor Allen preach on such a horrible text about children being born and named terrible things at the very time that we are celebrating the birth of several children in our congregation? This is especially distressing when one of the other scripture lessons for set for the day is the Lord’s Prayer?” Well, first, I want to do an entire sermon series on the Lord’s prayer later this year and didn’t want to jump the gun. But second, and more to the point, I thought it would be a perfect time for us to think about how the consequences of our actions – as individuals and as a community – affect the children being born right now.

In Hosea’s case, the people had become so comfortable that they had begun to rely on themselves and the so-called gods of their culture, most of who were seen as being very sympathetic to their way of life and the “lifestyle to which they had become accustomed.” The God of their forbearers, this Yahweh, was a demanding God, calling them to accountability to a higher power, to worship only one sacred divinity, to care for the least amongst them and the stranger in their midst, and, most stringently, called them to a day of rest without commerce or work – all of which cramped their style and were terribly inconvenient. So they ignored the demands of this God. And the more comfortable they got with the way things were, the more they needed security and power to protect their comfortable way of life.

Hosea, called by God to respond, too it upon himself to live out the conviction of God on the people gone astray by taking into his own life a family that embodied God’s disappointment and demands. I love God, but cannot even imagine becoming a living metaphor for God’s message! But Hosea did.

So, as we think about the children born to Hosea and Gomer, and by some extension, the children born in our congregation, our country, and our world today, we might think about how they, simply by being born, convict us of our behaviors, attitudes, and words which show a reliance upon ourselves and not the God of creation, which reveal a worship of comfort over discipline, and which – quite literally – endanger our children’s future.

For the baby boy born today, I wonder whether or not in 2020 there will be any more equity in the criminal justice system. Or will the world be just the same as it is today, as prison populations expand dramatically, taking up more and more of our resources. Will it continue to be that one in 30 men between the ages of 20 and 34 is behind bars, and for black men it is one in 9. Will imprisonment continue to miserably fail to reduce the tendency for people to leave their doors and go right back to a life of crime? For this baby boy, will the disparity between what race he is and others are continue to define the likelihood of his being imprisoned as dramatically as it does today, where 63% of our prison population is black or Latino, although they are only 25% of our national population?

For the baby girl born today, I wonder whether or not in 2030 our nation will be any closer to bridging the income gap between men and women? Or will it be just the same as it is today, when full-time, year round female workers earned 77.1 cents on the dollar that men earned? For this baby girl, will the situation remain where women are about half the workforce and masters degree programs, but only 3% of Fortune 500 CEOs, 15% of board of directors, and 13% of executive officers? Will Breast cancer continue to be the most common cancer among American women, except for skin cancers. Will the statistic that says the chance of developing invasive breast cancer at some time in a woman's life is a little less than 1 in 8 (12%) be reduced at all by 2030?

For the twins born today, I wonder whether or not in 2040 our nation will have reduced the national debt so that it is not threatening their future, or if it will be the same as it is today, where it has crossed the $13 trillion threshold and threatens to surpass the gross national product of our nation? Will politicians continue to fight over the causes of such an out of control debt, blaming each other for the skyrocketing numbers while never doing anything to actually slow or reduce it? For these twins, will the situation remain where government spending goes unchecked, the cost of wars mount up, and a lackluster economy adds to the nation being in the red so that the entire nation, perhaps even world, is at risk?

For the babies adopted today, I wonder whether or not in 2050 they will be able to breath air that is clean, drink water that is plentiful and uncontaminated, eat food that is nutritious, and work, play, and live on land that is hazard free and rich in possibilities? Or will it be the same as today, when climate change is ridiculed as “fantasy,” and clean water has become a consumer product that will be available only to those with the money to buy it, where land is stripped of all its nutrients and mountains mined to fulfill a voracious appetite for energy and products? For those adopted today, will food still be shipped over half a planet, losing nutrients and consuming energy along the way, or will it be grown locally, in ways that are healthy and sustainable for their children as well as the planet?

For all our children born and adopted this summer, from Jaime and Jazmine’s boy born in April, to Shannon and Steve’s boy born earlier in July, to the baby that David and Stacey will soon have, will the actions – or inactions – of those of us sitting here today threaten their ability to enjoy “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?” Will our babies someday convict us of our failure to learn about, worship, and lead lives worthy of the God who we claim is creator, redeemer, and sustainer of our lives? How can we be more faithful to God’s call in our lives so that we do not get distracted by the gods of our culture – god’s of divisive political wrangling and partisan religious posturing – god’s of corporate greed or consumerism’s allure – god’s of cynicism, despair, and apathy as well as the appeal of escapism of addictions? Our children’s lives depend upon our actions today!

How can we hear this ancient call, which is demanding, and yet freeing, so that our children… and our children’s children… and our children’s children’s children… will not convict us of the crime of destroying their future? Let us take seriously these disciplines of giving our allegiance to only one God, of being faithful in community, of caring for the least among us and the stranger in our midst, and of honoring Sabbath time and the release that brings from the captivity of our culture, so that we might save our children from a sure and horrible fate.

We can do it! And may we be so faithful to God that we, too, will hear that hint of grace that came at the very end of our scripture lesson today: “and in the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ it shall be said to them, ‘Children of the living God.’”

May it be so. Amen.


(1) Hosea 1:2-10, Rev. Howard Wallace, The Old Testament Readings: Weekly Comments on the Revised Common Lectionary, Theological Hall of the Uniting Church, Melbourne, Australia.
http://hwallace.unitingchurch.org.au/WebOTcomments/OrdinaryC/Pent9Hos1.html
 

Rev. Allen V. Harris
Franklin Circle Christian Church
www.FranklinCircleChurch.org


 

Copyright 2010 -- The Rev. Allen V. Harris

Franklin Circle Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

1688 Fulton Rd., Cleveland, OH 44113-3096