Thoughts for the Day

A Plea for Repentance

Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
Take words with you
and return to the Lord;
say to him,
‘Take away all guilt;
accept that which is good,
and we will offer
the fruit of our lips.
Assyria shall not save us;
we will not ride upon horses;
we will say no more, “Our God”,
to the work of our hands.
In you the orphan finds mercy.’

Assurance of Forgiveness

I will heal their disloyalty;
I will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.

They shall again live beneath my shadow,
they shall flourish as a garden;
they shall blossom like the vine,
their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?
It is I who answer and look after you.
I am like an evergreen cypress;
your faithfulness comes from me.
Those who are wise understand these things;
those who are discerning know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right,
and the upright walk in them,
but transgressors stumble in them.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

As a child 'fish on Friday' was an accepted thing, particularly in Lent. I remember this from my school days, and later when I was twenty and spent time in traction in hospital. (Just try eating white fish while lying on your back!). Many Christians still do this, for Friday harks back to the day our Lord died, and since the earliest centuries Friday was set aside as a day of repentance. Meat was costly and was eaten at celebrations, so it seemed right for the Church to give up eating meat during a solemn time of penance such as Lent.

Our reading today is from the Prophet Hosea who lived in the 8th century in the northern kingdom. Near the end of his book we get this wonderful plea from him - a demand for repentance by the people and an assurance of their forgiveness by God. It is too late to stop what is going to happen, for Samaria will fall to Assyria in 722 BCE, but Yahweh will not forget His people says Hosea, if they repent and turn to Him. Note, Ephraim is the largest tribe, and Hosea particularly blames them for what is to happen.

Christians throughout the centuries have kept Friday as either a fast day, or eaten fish for their main meal. However, some of us might prefer to consciously give up meat, on this day since fish now costs so much. What is really important is the thought behind it. Abstaining from all food, or sacrificing meat (or fish) is meant to make us think about Christ's sacrifice made for us. If it does this, then the ancient tradition has achieved its purpose!

Father God,
help us to mark Friday
as a time of solemn repentance,
to remember how our Lord suffered
and died for us.
In prayer, and in abstinence of food
may we make this a special day
during our Lenten journey.
Amen.