Hosea 11:1-4 NRSVue
1When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 2The more I called them, the more they went from me; they kept sacrificing to the Baals and offering incense to idols. 3Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up in my arms, but they did not know that I healed them. 4I led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love. I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down to them and fed them.
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Further reflection
These images of God as mother remind me to seek from God all the passionate affection we hope for from mothers. In my life I look for those cords of kindness, those bands of love. Even as I age, I treasure the moments when God bends down to feed me.
I let the tender intimacy of this passage speak to me; it tells me how God wants to treat me. It challenges my ideas about myself, inviting me to consider myself as a child, as an infant held close to God's cheek.
I think of the parents of newborn children, considering how they are so engrossed and enthralled by the miracle of new life. I let myself be gazed on by God who loves me just as much – and even more!