Today’s first reading from Hosea brings into focus the need for harmony between our internal and external relationships with God. This is a theme that we often hear about in both the Old and New Testament readings.
When I read about the Israelites building more altars and more sacred pillars as they became more successful…I couldn’t help but think back to seminary when Father, now Bishop Chris Coyne, taught us about the different types of Church architecture.
One style that caught my eye is called Triumphalism. Just think about most any cathedral or basilica built in the 1800’s and early 1900s in the Boston or Fall River area, and you’ll see it.
Triumphalism is defined as a style that uses grand, imposing, and celebratory elements to convey church authority, permanence, and spiritual significance. For example, the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston, designed by Patrick Keely in the Gothic Revival tradition, fits this bill.
On a human level, as one person said, to me, as we looked in awe at the cathedral, “when this was built, it really showed that the Catholics in Boston had made it!” (If you read the history of Catholicism in early Boston, you’ll understand what he meant.)
It seems like, at times, we are all prone to falling into over emphasizing outward appearance…when it comes to our relationship with God….for all sorts of reasons.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the beauty and transcendent nature that these sacred places evoke…but there is a cautionary warning that extends beyond our local dioceses and that warning, that invitation is for each of us to look at our families and ourselves…how is our relationship with God both from an internal and an external standpoint….how do they match up?
The prophet Hosea brings God’s warning to the Israelites and to us that no matter how wealthy or powerful we are, if we don’t have God as the foundation and guiding light of our lives, then our altars and sacred pillars will begin to crumble with thorns overgrowing them.
Let me ask you: have you ever been to a really beautiful and grand home that conveyed earthly success, only to learn that the family who lived there didn’t enjoy love and harmony with each other and with God?
Or maybe you've ever seen someone with an expensive car or boat but whose financial situation was a disaster…?
Or lastly, what about someone who’s always impressively dressed…including we priests…whose outward appearance didn’t match what their clothing or vestments displayed.
In any of these cases, from churches, to homes and cars, and clothing…the question isn’t about the quality or grandeur, but rather it is about the faith community, family, or person…and our relationship with God and one another.
The Israelites were more concerned with impressing other men and women with their achievements…as displayed outwardly…even as it related to their symbols of religion.
But God provides the remedy for them and for us as needed when he says, “Sow for yourselves justice, reap the fruit of piety; break up for yourselves a new field, for it is time to seek the Lord…”
Every day, it’s good for our families and we to seek justice…doing what’s right in the eyes of God…giving God and others what is rightfully due beginning with honesty and respect…. every day, we are to live piously...turning to God in prayer, living a Sacramental life, and making Christ the center of each day…and at times we do need to break up a new field…to overcome the disharmony or hardness of heart…breaking old habits of sin, letting go of resentment, and going to Confession just to name a few ways…
My brothers and sisters, Jesus sends the Twelve out to find and heal the lost sheep of Israel…He begins with the Chosen People, reminding us that we are to do the same with our families… sometimes breaking up a new field that begins with a prayer and an invitation to go for coffee… to listen and to talk…seeking harmony in our families and in our hearts with God and each other.