by Roy M. Terry IV
Old Testament Reading: Hosea 1:2-10
For Sunday, July 28, 2013: Year C—Lectionary 17
My wife and I almost named our daughter “Freedom.”
Well I should add, I wanted to name our daughter Freedom and Leslie wanted no part of it. She said that kids would make fun of her and think her parents were a couple of hippies. So, we named her Emily after a long lineage of grandmothers and aunts bearing the same name.
In spite of the possible hippie jokes or occasional taunting I liked the name Freedom. A name says a lot about a person and even more about their parents. I wanted our child to have a name that was different, made a statement and celebrated, well, Freedom. I lost out on the argument and I am constantly reminded by our daughter Emily that she is so glad I didn’t have the final say in what we named her. So glad I didn’t offer my third option, Zeitgeist.
Children of Whoredom
Hosea didn’t have the luxury of selecting his children’s names.
After taking a wife of whoredom (Gomer) and bearing children of whoredom God provided the names. "Jezreel," "Lo-ruhamah," and little "Lo-ammi." Each child a prophetic billboard proclaiming the impending doom facing Israel. How’s that for positive reinforcement. Jezreel, well his name isn’t so bad “God soweth”, but the other two? Lo-ruhamah means “not pitied” and little Lo-ammi means “not my people.”
Obviously God isn’t concerned with how these children would be treated in school or how their name might provide them with a healthy self-esteem. Their names are a testimony to a peoples’ unfaithfulness.
Uneasy
This text always makes me a little uneasy with God forcing God’s agenda on poor Hosea—denying him the freedom of meeting a faithful spouse and cursing the children with names that are all but inspiring. It just rubs against my post-modern, 21st century disposition.
Sure the children of Israel have been unfaithful but does that mean that Hosea has to bear the burden for their sins?
Honest to God
For all the negative names God has given the children of Hosea, it is Hosea’s name which offers hope. Hosea means salvation. God is salvation and God is faithful. The very things that make us uneasy about this text might be the very things that offer us hope.
God is the honest participant in this story. Hosea’s story is God’s story. God doesn’t soften the edges around our relationship and God will never give up. We are the ones who hide from our darkness while playing the name game and pretty things up so we don’t have to deal with our shame. While we pollute the earth we generate “clean coal.” As we clear the land for more malls and housing we practice “land development”. When we kill for the cause of security we launch “peace keeper missiles.” And yet it shall be said to them “Children of the living God.”
The Hardest Question
Why would God ever place such burden on God’s faithful? Why would God give such horrible names? What are the names God gives God’s children today?
Rev. Roy Terry serves as the pastor of Cornerstone United Methodist Church in Naples, FL. In addition to working at the church, Roy enjoys supporting his wife and daughter's equestrian pursuits, playing in the Holy Moly Band, getting a few tattoos and singing classic rock tunes at the local sports pub. He has been published in Christian Century, Duke Divinity School's publication Divinity, The Ekklesia Project, and was a contributor in Diana Butler Bass’ work on re-traditioning churches, From Nomads to Pilgrims and Christianity for the Rest of Us.
