Commentary on the Gospel of
The Take Over
God’s heartbreaking cry through Hosea is no different from the cries of many good-hearted parents. They are heartbroken as to why their children, raised with good intentions and good example, have gone away from faith and morals. Their sense of guilt often gets doubled when they hear some preachers scream that it’s all because of the faults in parenting, as sins of the parents fall on seven generations. Today’s passage must console them—even God, as a parent, who took Israel by the arms and nurtured her, was left heartbroken when she went off the track. Was it the failure of the father’s parenting that the prodigal son left home in haste and the elder son stayed home but with no love in his heart? It is not always fault in parenting. These are mysteries of human lives. Some have to go away briefly before they can find their way back, repentant. Our task is to keep our hearts and love open, as God does.
