Reflection
Israel is a luxuriant vine whose fruit matches its growth.
The more abundant his fruit, the more altars he built;
The more productive his land, the more sacred pillars he set up.
It is not difficult to see the prophet Hosea addressing our contemporary world in this passage. Western civilization, and the United States in particular, is living in a luxuriant and abundant time. Never in history have so many people been so well-fed, enjoyed so many creature comforts, and lived in such personal safety. Lucky us!
Unfortunately, we have also created our own false gods. We worship at the altars of finance, science, technology, industry, consumerism, militarism, nativism, exclusion, and celebrity. We often forget that our prosperity has been built on the blessings of God and the labor and sacrifice of our ancestors.
Their heart is false, now they pay for their guilt;
God shall break down their altars and destroy their sacred pillars . .
The high places of Aven shall be destroyed, the sin of Israel;
Thorns and thistles shall overgrow their altars.
The end of times has been predicted in each generation since the Book of Revelation, but one does not have to believe Armageddon is at hand to recognize how precarious our world is. Every great civilization before us eventually has crumbled, usually from within, due to over-indulgence, hubris, and its over-reach in attempts to extend dominance.
Before trying to reform society, however, I should reflect on the false gods I have created in my own life. My false gods are revealed by the things on which I spend the most thought, time and energy. In addition to visiting society’s altars, I have spent considerable time at my own altars of wealth, status, vanity, comfort and sexuality. These gods, too, will eventually crumble, perhaps sooner than later.
Sow for yourselves justice, reap the fruit of piety;
break up for yourselves a new field, for it is time to seek the Lord,
till he come and rain down justice upon you.
I should spend more time at God’s altar, where I can look beyond myself and raise my concern for others, familiar and unfamiliar. I need to recognize the rights and needs of those around me and, especially, of those that society forgets.
