Notes for  16 June 2026

Jesus builds His conversation with the disciples on a contrast: I give you a commandment to love one another because the world hates you. In the world there is hatred; among you there is love.

Two questions immediately arise here. First, can the disciples' love overpower the world's hatred, if the world is always larger and the disciples themselves do not really know how to love? And second, it is clear that the situation is not so polarized at all: in the world that does not believe in Christ, love is always present (for people cannot live entirely without love), and among Christians love, to put it mildly, is not the most frequent guest either.

As for the first question, one can only note that the matter is not the disciples' own love, but the mercy of the Father; and who is stronger - God or the world's evil - is a question addressed to the very depth of our being, since it has no "external" answer. As for polarization, the matter is apparently not a division into "believers and unbelievers" (it is unclear how to divide them), but the opposition between Christ and "the world" within each person again.

In Christ's instruction to the disciples, which we read today, there are a number of important aspects worth noting. Thus, the Lord tells the disciples, when coming to one city or another, to find out who is worthy to receive their word. In the Sermon on the Mount the Lord speaks a strikingly memorable phrase: "Do not give what is holy to dogs," that is, do not offer holy things to those who do not need them and for whom they are not holy. The words "inquire who in it is worthy" appear to say the same thing. The witness of Christ's disciples is addressed to all, but under no circumstances should it be imposed on those who have no need of it at all.

In recent decades people have placed on the Church expectations and claims connected with its ability to serve the moral formation of society. Of course, Christ's disciples have something to say about this, but that word can hardly be addressed to those who do not need it, who do not want to think about the moral content of life. In fact, Christ's disciples have nothing with which to frighten the crowds (the masses, as people used to say) into taking the path of good: they can only bear witness to those who themselves need it.

Further, the Lord commands the disciples to give blessing and peace, but not to seek to ensure that their word is accepted. This is fundamentally important, because this is precisely what distinguishes the disciples' witness from ideology: Christianity is impossible without respect for human freedom.

Christ's commandment to love our enemies, offenders, and persecutors is perhaps one of the commandments hardest for us to fulfill. Of course, one can say, "I love everyone, I forgive everyone, and I have no enemies," but few can say it sincerely. After all, anyone can be a person's enemy, even those closest to him; in fact, it is precisely among close people that the greatest tensions arise first of all - they wound most painfully, and from them one has to endure the hardest persecutions. Perhaps that is why the Lord said elsewhere, "A man's enemies will be those of his own household" (Mt 10:36).

And yet He calls us to love our enemies - both near and far. And we try to pray for and bless not those we like, not those who make us feel good, but those whom it is hardest to love - those who cause us pain. Someone may call this approach masochistic, but it is not: it is precisely what Christianity can set against masochism - the humility and meekness commanded to us not because life is easier that way, but because they are an inseparable characteristic of our Lord Himself. We are not obliged to follow His way of acting, but if we want to understand what true love and true happiness are, then we will have to learn to forgive our enemies.

Today's reading again turns to the theme of Israel's apostasy, and here the threat of the country's defeat and the people's scattering is stated directly (vv. 7-8). It is worth noting that the threat of military defeat and absorption of the Northern Kingdom by the rapidly growing Assyrian Empire was quite real at that time, and although nothing of the sort happened during Hosea's lifetime, soon after his death the Kingdom of Israel was in fact destroyed and its population scattered throughout the territory of that enormous empire.

This scattering, according to the prophet's testimony, was not an accidental event; it clearly became the consequence of a whole chain of spiritual events. It all began when God's people rejected God and the Torah (the Law), in essence ceasing to be God's people despite all their declarations and ostentatious religiosity (vv. 1-3). It would seem that in such a situation repentance and conversion would have been the most natural and logical step, but nothing of the kind occurs. Understanding that with their chosen way of life they can expect no support from God, the inhabitants of the country begin to arrange things for themselves according to their own human laws and notions (v. 4); and this, it appears, concerned both spiritual and religious life ("the calves") and social and political life.

It should be noted that the laws of the Northern Kingdom, judging by everything we know about them, corresponded little to the norms of the Torah, and the religious policy of that state's authorities essentially encouraged the paganism characteristic of the majority of its population. The result of this choice was that Israel indeed almost ceased to differ from the nations around it, at least in matters of spiritual life. And then God leaves it to the mercy of its historical fate, which, given the military and political situation then taking shape in the Near East, was bound to be very sad.

Of course, the attraction of both the authorities and the people to paganism was due in no small measure to the fact that many associated it either with the benefits of civilization or with military and political power. It is no surprise that these many people hoped to attain both by securing the support of foreign gods (vv. 10-14). And then God steps aside, letting His people drink to the full of what had seemed so attractive from a distance. Under God's protection, even the pagan world, cruel and merciless in essence, could seem reasonable and beautiful to the Jews: they saw it not in itself, but as part of God's world, in which everything is beautiful. But once God stepped aside, all the beauty of paganism disappeared, and the evil with which it was permeated, like the whole fallen world, came crashing down upon them, leaving them completely defenseless. Then it became clear that without God Israel is nothing, that wiping it from the face of the earth costs nothing, and that all its prosperity and security had been provided by its God, whom the country's inhabitants, alas, so often forgot.

Nineveh was accustomed to relying on its own strength; one might say that veneration of military power became a cult in Assyria. With force one can indeed achieve much, but it is impossible to lean on it constantly. The only inexhaustible strength is the strength of the Lord, and now it is turned against Assyria itself. What inspired such hopes naturally failed, as does everything in which people try to seek support apart from the Creator.

The fate of Nineveh brings to mind the biblical principle: whatever one sows, that he will also reap. Assyria brought much evil to those around it, conquered and devastated many lands, and now the hour has come when invaders fall upon Assyria itself. We see vivid pictures of the defeat of a city that until recently was strong and rich, now doomed to inevitable destruction. But what Assyria is now experiencing, many nations had already had to suffer from its own hordes - all of it has returned to the place from which it came. Everything must be paid for, and now Assyria's turn to pay has come.

The Assyrians in those days would hardly have been able to acknowledge what happened to them as just. But the One who is able to turn any difficult situation to good did not allow the complete destruction of the Assyrian people: they are as dear to Him as His other children, even disobedient ones.

God more than once showed by various miracles His favor toward those whom He had chosen. But what is special about this particular miracle? Why is Aaron's blossoming staff placed in the Ark together with the tablets of the Covenant and the manna? A dry staff that in one night in the wilderness put forth buds, produced flowers, and bore almonds - is this not an image of hard-hearted Israel humbling itself before God and blossoming with the unearthly beauty of the Messiah? If so, it is also an image of our life - blooming and reigning in Christ. Of course, the staff is dry, and the wilderness is all around, but all things are possible for God...