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From: Hosea 14:2-10

Call to conversion

[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:

11:12-14:9. The third part of the book begins with another “indictment” (rib) (12:
2) and also ends with a restoration oracle (14:4-9). The sins condemned here are
not very different from those denounced in the previous part — idolatry, pacts with
foreign countries, neglect of the Lord when times are good, etc. However, the his-
torical background seems to be different. In the previous part one could identify
the reigns of Menahem, Pekahiah and Pekah (the period 747-732: cf. 2 Kings
15:13-31); here we seem to be in the last stage of the Northern kingdom, in the
times of King Hoshea (733-724), shortly before the fall of Samaria. However, the
most interesting thing about this section is the fact that Hosea goes right back
to the beginnings of the people, to accuse his fellow-citizens of being as incon-
sistent as their father Jacob, who was not a very trustworthy man (11:12-12:14),
and to remind them that they owe their nationhood, their identity, to the Lord,
the only God, when he delivered them from Egypt (12:9; 13:4).

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:I), in the cen-
tral 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 any-
thing; whereas here (vv. 1-3) the prophet entreats Israel to he 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 (vs. 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 un-
loved?” (St Bernard, “In Cantica Canticorum”, 83, 5).

14:9. The last verses of the book are a piece of wisdom writing. They are some-
what 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.

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

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 spea-
king 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 his-
tory of the Church. It is difficult for the world to understand the way of God. Some-
times 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 can-
not compromise about, no matter how much they are in fashion. Therefore, Chris-
tian 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 con-
fidence 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 rationa-
lists 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 Him-
self 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.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.