Here is part of today’s Old Testament reading, from Hosea: ‘I will heal their faithlessness; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. I will be as the dew to Israel; he shall blossom as the lily, he shall strike root as the poplar; his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon. They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow, they shall flourish as a garden; they shall blossom as the vine, their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon’.

‘I will love them freely’ … this saying is continued and taken forward by Jesus Himself, who has loved us freely ‘until death’. Let us strive with all our heart to return love for love, for in this way we will truly flourish. May God bless you this day.