"I will espouse you to me forever: I will espouse you in right and in justice, in love and in mercy; I will espouse you in fidelity, and you shall know the LORD." Hos 2:22
God wanting, even promising to marry us, is an extraordinary image that occurs regularly in the Old Testament, but especially in the book of Hosea. The intensity and desire of God to be with us in a committed and eternal embrace is always worthy of our reflection and prayer.
At the same time, this is not the kind of religious imagery that helps everyone, especially those for whom marriage has been a painful endurance test, hardly a reflection of God's intent for anyone. Nevertheless, God's yearning for a relationship with us has to be expressed with images since words alone cannot contain the power of God's call to the human family.
Most important, no matter how we express or imagine it, we should never forget God's fidelity to us. Even when we resist, deny or reject God's love, God persists. Creating an environment of justice and peace everywhere allows each person, culture and nation to enter this mystery and be transformed by it.
Today, open yourselves to God's desire to be our spouse.
What images or metaphors most help you to put aside your fear and enter God's embrace?
The most helpful metaphor for me was that of the seed which can't become a plant unless it dies.
ReplyDeleteI was aware that joining the Church, being baptized and entering into a personal relationship with Christ would change me, every day for the rest of my life. As much as I looked forward to this, and wanted it, I was also afraid of it. It helped to think of myself as a seed.