Come back to me with all your heart.

Holy Saturday – Morning Prayer

Hosea 5:15b-16:2

Thus says the Lord: In their affliction, they shall look for me: “Come let us return to the Lord, For it is he who has rent, but he will heal us; he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds. He will revive us after two days; on the third day he will raise us up, to live in his presence.”

This morning we have a reading from the Prophet Hosea, a prophet who preached to the people exiled to the Northern Kingdom. A people who were not faithful to their God and to the practice of their faith. So that Hosea could understand God’s love for his people, as he preached to them, God asked Hosea to marry and have children with a prostitute. And so Hosea married and fell in love with Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim. And as often as Gomer was unfaithful to Hosea, Hosea continued to show her love and forgiveness, much like God does for his people who are unfaithful to him. Each time we sin and turn away from God, he rents his heart out of sorrow and love for us as he longs for us to be with Him.

In our Breaking Bread hymnal we have a beautiful song that speaks of this love and this longing that God has for us. They hymn is not based on any particular verse from Hosea, but on his whole story and the message that God has for us, a message that is proclaimed to us over and over again during our Lenten season. Let us listen to and pray these words.

“Come back to me with all your heart. Don’t let fear keep us apart. Trees do bend, thought straight and tall; so must we to others’ call. The wilderness will lead you to your heart where I will speak. Integrity and justice with tenderness you shall know. You shall sleep secure with peace; faithfulness will be your joy. Long have I waited for your coming home to me and living deeply our new life.”

Our God has a longing for us to be with him, and so he sent his only begotten son to reconcile us to himself; we are called to remember this in a special way during our Lenten season as we fast and pray. We are called to experience his healing and forgiving grace each time we take advantage of the Sacrament of Reconciliation; and we experience the fullness of his love each time we encounter him and receive him in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, where he nourishes us with his Body and Blood. And this Easter, and every Sunday, we celebrate the joy of the Resurrection as we long to enter into a new life in Christ.

Long has our God waited for our coming home to him and live deeply our new life with him.