Daily Lectionary: Ecclesiastes 3:1-22, John 7:14-31

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. Some lessons are harder to learn than others. I’m sure that comes as no surprise to you. In school, some subjects will be easier than others…but there are some things that we don’t learn in a classroom setting. Some things we have to learn by experience. One of the hardest things for most people to learn is when to admit that they’re in the wrong. 

Our reading today begins with God’s promise that He will return to his people when they confess their sins in earnest (truth). Hosea 6 starts with these words: “Come, let us return to the Lord…” The people even go so far as to acknowledge that God, by His Word, “tears” and “strikes down,” but that these harsh activities are ultimately for the purposes of healing and binding up. God tears down the idolatry in our hearts and builds up our faith through the promises that are in His Word. But had Israel learned the hard lesson of repentance? You guessed it. They don’t. God compares Israel’s repentance with a morning cloud or dew that dries up early. They’re insincere. They don’t mean what they say.  They say that they’ve learned repentance, but they’re still trying to placate God with their burnt offerings and  works. It won’t work. 

But the beautiful truth that resonates throughout Hosea’s prophecy is that God continues to return to His people over and over. There are certainly times when He comes with words that tear and strike down. When His Word tears YOU down and strikes YOUR conscience—it’s times like these that God is teaching us the hard lesson of repentance. God’s Word is true when it calls us out for our unfaithfulness toward Him. His Word is right to accuse us in times when we are insincere about our repentance. So don’t be like faithless Israel. Don’t play games with God. Don’t think that the things you do will please Him. He is pleased to show mercy upon sinners like you. He rejoices to save you from Your sin. He rejoices to deliver such salvation through Word and Sacrament, the means by which you are connected to Christ. Consider that a lesson learned.  In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.