Sowing wind, reaping the whirlwind
July 9, 2024 - Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Hosea 8:4-7, 11-13
The night before his marriage, a bachelor party was held for him. During that party, his male colleagues and friends told him that has no say in that relationship. He said it was not true and so they told him to prove it. "Withhold your answers during the marriage ceremony for five minutes, then we will believe you". It is difficult to comprehend why he obeyed them. When the priest asked: "Do you take Anna, as your wife", he kept silent. The priest repeated the same question three times before he finally answered "Yes, I do". But, it was too late. When the priest asked Anna, whether she was willing to take him as her husband, she said "no" and left the church.
In today's passage from Hosea, we find a metaphor of sowing and reaping which is common in the Bible. Even Jesus used it in relationship to God's kingdom (see Mark 4:26-29). The metaphor highlights the principle of cause and effect. The originality of Hosea's metaphor lies in the fact of what is being sown and reaped. The people "sow wind, and they shall reap whirlwind" (Hosea 8:7). The problem is that we cannot sow the wind. So, what does the prophet refer to?
Hosea criticises the northern people of Israel for electing illegitimate kings and for idolatry. From the perspective of the biblical author who is a staunch supporter of the David dynasty and Jerusalem as the only legitimate place of worship, the schism caused by Jeroboam I (around 922 - 901) was unforgivable. Jeroboam took ten tribes of Israel and tore them apart from the house of David. Then, he established alternative places of worship in Bethel and Dan and placed in each of them a golden calf. Acting in this way was like sowing wind that would bring a whirlwind of destruction upon the house of Jeroboam - "to their utter annihilation from the face of the earth" (1 Kings 13:34).
The "whirlwind" that Hosea has in mind is a return to a condition of slavery: "They shall go back to Egypt" (Hosea 8:13). But, in this case, it would be the Assyrian army that invaded the northern kingdom of Israel, destroyed its capital Samaria, and exiled majority of the population. Thus, we have here a reversal of the story of Exodus as a consequence of Israel's disobedience. God gave them His teaching lovingly called by the Lord "My Torah", but the people did not bother to get familiar with it. And yet, their adherence to God's teaching could prevent the disaster.
In this very moment, it is worth reminding ourselves of Jesus' parable about the rich man and Lazarus (see Luke 16:19-31). After an enjoyable lifestyle, the rich man is tormented in the realm of the dead and begs Abraham to send Lazarus to relieve his suffering. Since this request is denied, he asks Abraham to send Lazarus to his brothers who like him enjoy life and do not care about the poor. Abraham refuses again and says that they have the Bible, God's teaching to guide them through life.
If the man from our story at the beginning obeyed God instead of his colleagues and friends, he would be happily married. If Israel listened to God's teaching, they would remain in their land. But, like many others, they thought that they could handle the wind they were sowing only to be destroyed by the whirlwind that fell upon them.
Are we also sowing wind in our personal lives, society, and the world?