Written by Jonathan Melton
Hosea 4:2-3 (NRSV) Swearing, lying, and murder, and stealing and adultery break out; bloodshed follows bloodshed. Therefore the land mourns, and all who live in it languish; together with the wild animals and the birds of the air, even the fish of the sea are perishing.
Bloodshed follows bloodshed, says Hosea—the sins of our sisters and brothers and ourselves are inevitably suffered even by the fish of the sea. All creation—from the blue whale to the Higgs boson—groans for our promised redemption.
Hosea tells Israel that care of the land depends on the communal character of the people. This isn’t just something nice to say, something sweet to pass on to God’s people about the earth and how it brims with God’s creativity. Hosea really means what he’s saying—when we behave without integrity toward our brothers and sisters, when we refuse to offer respect and care for the world, all of creation languishes and mourns. This is as true today as it was when Hosea preached this word to the children of Israel.
Poet Wendell Berry reminds us, “Eating is an agricultural act.” To learn to love the land has everything to do with loving our neighbors, and if we love our neighbors, we will love the land.
Join more than a half million readers worldwide who use Forward Day by Day as a resource for daily prayer and Bible study.
No comments:
Post a Comment