God Is So Good

Psalm 85; Hosea 1:2-10

 

        Of all the stories in the Bible my favorite might be Hosea and Gomer. On the surface the story seems to be a metaphor on marriage and infidelity.  But that explanation hardly touches the depth of this love affair. It is a parable of the broken covenant between God and God’s people. Hosea becomes a living symbol of this relationship by marrying a prostitute and becoming the father of her children. Gomer is no Pretty Woman. She never denies her unfaithfulness. She recklessly abandons Hosea and returns to her former life. Yet Hosea loves her. The central theme of this fable becomes an intriguing question. How far can Homer wander from Hosea before he gives up on her? We never discover an answer to this question because Gomer never discovers that boundary. She goes as far as she dares, yet Hosea still finds her and brings her home.

        If you have not read the story, I suggest it compares with the parable Jesus tells about the Prodigal Son. On the surface of both stories lingers the difficult question, “When should one give up on a child or a spouse?”  But that is not the only question being asked. Everyday separations involve two human beings, with two different stories, and multiple interpretations based on the bias of numerous witnesses. Both Hosea and the parable told by Jesus are asking serious questions concerning the relationship between humanity and God. There is no “he said, she said”. There is no wiggle room to question the guilt of Gomer or the Prodigal. The difference in the stories is only the prodigal seeks forgiveness. Gomer never wants to come home.   She claims to be miserable and has little desire to be constrained by Hosea’s benevolence. So the real question becomes, “Are there limits to God’s forgiveness?”

        Quite frankly that depends on which section of the Bible you choose to read. In the early stories, malcontents are not only punished, they are left in the wilderness to perish. Originally Israel was given a simple choice. Do what is right and live. Do what is sinful and die. Saul, the first King, was not only deserted by Yahweh, Saul falls on his own sword. Saul was replaced by David, the charming poet whom everyone loved. David represented the right and holy way to live. He was celebrated as God’s own son. But even David could be unfaithful. On one auspicious morning while looking down from his window at the wife of Urriah, David set in motion a plan by which he successfully broke commandments one, six, seven, eight, nine, and ten. I could make an argument David also broke number five because he definitely embarrassed his mom. David was punished but no new king was appointed. David was still God’s guy.

        This confused the priest and prophets who were keeping score. Why was David still among the living? Why did the second son of David and Bathsheba become the next king? Was the relationship between Yahweh and the king different than the relationship between Yahweh and the King’s subjects? Some wanted to claim Yahweh as a God who was cool, calm, distant, and only desired to be exalted. But the Old Testament poets began to proclaim Yahweh as passionate, committed, and even jealous. They  introduced a new concept into Israel’s theological language.  Our God is faithful……………. regardless.

        One such poet was the person author of Psalm 85. Written during a time of internal peril, the poet turned to The One who has always been faithful. The poem begins, “O God, remember when You forgave Your people. Remember when You withdrew Your wrath. Can You now find it within Your gracious Spirit to forgive us? Surely You cannot be angry with us forever.

        This was a radical idea. The poet reminded God who God claimed to be. Sin is inevitable, but the poet identifies God as The One who initiates salvation. Instead of the God of Wrath who haunts the pages of Leviticus and Numbers we are introduced to the gracious mercy of a parent who cannot abandon the reckless child. Even as Israel is a willing prostitute to the gods of greed and authority, the God of the poet chases after Israel to bring her safely home. 

        Sometimes I believe our greatest sin is loss of memory. We are so good at holding grudges, particularly against folks we once loved. When someone angers or disappoints us, they have dared to disrupt our ordered lives. Our love turns to hurt and then into rage and we forget any redemptive quality we ever saw in our adversary. We have been wounded. We demand a confession. We desire punishment.

This is the way the oldest writers of the Bible believed a relationship with God worked. When Israel sinned they were expected to confess before undergoing harsh banishment from God’s grace. Examples given were slavery in Egypt and exile in Babylon.  But the poets began to claim that their God never sat on the sidelines waiting for an apology. Their God remembered Israel before the sin. Their God actively pursued the sinner even at the risk of being disregarded. The poet claimed their God……. our God, remembered. The poet claimed Their God…..our God, sees beyond who we are at our worst moment and re-imagines who we might become. Reconciliation is not an impossible dream. It is the only acceptable alternative.

Listen again to the words of Psalm 85:

Steadfast love and fidelity meet.

Righteousness and peace kiss.

Faithfulness will spring up from the ground.

Reconciliation will look down from the sky.

 

God remembers; God loves; God pursues; God forgives;

And God expects no less from us.

Every day, in places as far away as Nashville and Paris, poets string together words, hoping for that magical combination which will turn a lovers ear or melt a broken heart. Sometimes it works. Sometimes righteousness and peace do kiss. 

The poets know our lives are filled with too many storms where every battle seems more important than the last. We win some, we lose some, but we fight them all clinging to the illusion that God is on our side.

In our desire to be St. George we forget with each dragon comes not only a flame and smoke but silence.  That stillness might be the calm before the next storm. But it can also be the God given opportunity to embrace and kiss.

Righteousness desires reconciliation and so God pursues us. Shalom longs for wholeness, and so God heals us. But God refuses to dance alone. Sometimes we are the once who must reach out. Sometimes we are the ones who must remember and forgive. Sometimes we are the ones who must initiate a touch. Sometimes we are the ones who must awaken a kindred spirits.

Since I was a child I have sung Jesus Loves Me.  Sometimes I forget Jesus’ love expands beyond me. I ask myself how Jesus could possibly love a person I have come to hate.  That person is a despicable, lying piece of scum. To be more exact, he is exactly the way I must occasionally look to God.  But God remembers who I am capable being. God loves me, and my enemy……….regardless.

This is hard stuff. How can I forgive if forgiveness is not sought? Why did Hosea continued to pursue Gomer even after she said she was never coming home? The poet claims God remembers who we were and who we are capable of becoming once again. The text doesn’t make exceptions.

I know God loves me, regardless. But doesn’t it also mean God loves that person I really don’t care for, regardless.  I may not like it but it seems to be God’s choice.

Thanks be to God for a willingness to pursue both of us, no matter how ugly it might occasionally get. What I have a problem with is when God has the nerve to say to me, “Go and do likewise.”                     To God be the glory.  Amen.