The two reading together make a strange combination. Whoredom and the episcopate. We pray they are not related!

I think the first draws me this morning. Adultery is such a common theme in the old testament. It speaks of the centrality of seeking God first. This condemnation in Hosea speaks of the ease with which we can ease God out.

They eat and are not satisfied. Maybe they have forgotten that food is a gift. I know in this culture food comes so easy that it is easy to assume that it is always that way. Yet hunger, HUNGER, is still one of the leading causes of death in the world. I know I can forget that it is a gift and having eaten my fill look around for more.

Wine and new wine take away the understanding. Think of the amount of beer commericals one is exposed to on TV. It can be indulgent. It is a narcotic. It takes the edge off. It tunes out.

My people consult a piece of wood. We have horoscopes and those who read the future. Astrology is still present. How easy is it to want something for nothing? It seems to be a part of human nature to want to know the future so we'll follow anything that might lead us there. We want to know however without the cost of discipleship. Discipleship or the covenant seeks us to lay our lives open to service. We often want to know but not change.

This whole reading simply reminds me of our cultures fascination with ease and comfort. It suggests that we are covetous and indulgent.

The covenant as a marriage vow suggests that the way to God is not about indulgence but recognition. This reading reminds me where I should put my trust. It is challenging.
 

The readings do combine to make a strange pair; I hope my Bishop doesn't see them! Eeek.

The adultery language in Hosea makes it a tough sell for Sunday worship, but it's a really powerful metaphor of our intimate relationship with God. When I was talking to my husband about these readings, he said he'd never heard of Hosea, which made me sad...when lectionary readings are so limited, we really deprive people of Scripture. And yes, they could read it on their own or go to adult ed classes, but many churchgoers just don't do those things. The more we blog, the more I am convinced that even difficult, embarassing texts deserve a place in Sunday worship.
 

What struck me today in both readings was the power of wine to affect the spirit. I don't think it is coincidence that both are called "spirit". The question for both is the impact such spirit has on people.

It is a force to be watched. I'm not an advocate to limit peoples consumption but believe we should observe where wine and spirits effects others. In Hosea it mentions its power to take away understanding. In Timothy a Bishop should not be drunkard and a deacon only he or she who can take it lightly.
 

Three things bother me in the Timothy reading about bishops:

(1) Married only once--why? What if a bishop's first spouse dies...then the bishop can't ever find happiness in that way again?

(2) Keep children submissive--that's a tall order today, isn't it? I don't have kids, but I don't know anyone who does who finds raising them easy...perhaps it's the word "submissive" that raises flags for me, and causes me to worry...it seems all too easy for one to abuse such a statement.

(3) Well-thought of by outsiders--this seems just wrong to me. Great leaders always have people who do NOT think well of them, don't they? And what about the prophets...they were certainly not "well-thought of" in their day; Jeremiah digging up and donning his dirty shorts, for example; surely people saw him as a nutcase. Does this mean that bishops should be politically astute (or smarmy) and not prophetic?
 

Elizabeth's reflection brought me to think about what is Timothy asking. What is it about success that it is presented even to the formation of the church. Is it contrary to the message that Jesus brought?

The early church it seems wanted to be able to present itself well. I think this is that Christianity propels people to live changed lives. It may not be by our own power but the witness of Christianity is that people who before demonstrated lostness, difficulty, and trouble now are free. Joy, peace, community...these are all traits that are attractive to people. Why? Because they are elusive to those still living under their own power.

The Bishop would be the primary witness of this new community. As such if he or she was living as the pagans there would be very little witness. What would be the attraction? What would be the evidence of the changed person?

One wife shows fidelity.
Keeping his children submissive shows the use of authority.
Well thought of by outsiders may very well be that a Bishop embroiled in controversy would bring those same controversies to the church. That, I would assume, caused alarm, because the controversy would shine brighter than the Gospel.
 

One of my classes, "Christians Encounter World Religions," has stuck with me after finals, as I am trying to formulate my own theology of other religions...am I a pluralist, inclusivist, or exclusivist?

Labels aren't helpful, in my opinion; but when I am tempted to a pluralist view, I am struck by the adultery language in Hosea, because it captures God's anguish when God's people go after other gods. If it's all just "one water, many wells," then why isn't God's reaction "Oh how lovely, these people are worshipping me as Baal instead of YHWH"? And of course there's always the response of "Who said God said," or that Hosea had a bad marriage so likened his society's situation with his own life; but, I find the adultery metaphor compelling, and am not willing to dismiss this prophetic book.
 

The Hosea passage talks about people abandoning the pursuit of God for pure material and physical pleasure; they have devoted themselves to transient things, which is characteristic of those who believe that this world is all there is, and is the best of what there is. And if our present world really were the best and the brightest, it would be completely reasonable to devote yourself to it like the whores of the temple. It's kind of central to Canaanite religion (as I understand it).
The Timothy passage complements Hosea well, because discusses the fact that our behavior reflects our values; if we believe that greates things are here on earth, then being a drunkard and lover of money are simply accepting and reflecting that importance.
As Christians, we know that there is something that is greater than our present existence. Our values must also be reflected in our behavior; we must live a life that shows the primary importance of the "mystery of faith" as that which is greatest rather than things like sex, money, and power.
I'd be interested to find out which word is used for "submissive" in the Timothy passage - I know that when a similar English phrase is used in reference to the state in Romans? and in reference to marriage relationships in Galatians? it means to loving support. He isn't talking about unquestioning obedience; he's talking about a relationship where they honor the individual and work for their best good (which sometimes means disobeying). That would be in keeping the respect from outsiders, as well as require that the bishop be not violent but gentle.
I've also heard the Timothy passage include "be married to only one wife" instead of "married only once" - which would answer Elizabeth's question about widowhood.