They feed on the sins of my people and relish their wickedness. – Hosea 4:7

Today's Scripture Reading (April 9, 2026): Hosea 4

Julius II was the Leader of the Roman Catholic Church from November 1, 1503, until his death on February 21, 1513. Julius was known as "The Warrior Pope" and "The Fearsome Pope," and the rumor is that he did not choose his papal name in honor of Pope Julius I, whose papacy lasted from February 6, 337, until April 12, 352, but after the Dictator of the Roman Republic, Julius Caesar. During his time on the Catholic Throne, he centralized and expanded the church's power. He also created the Vatican Museums and initiated a plan to rebuild St. Peter's Basilica.

Although we aren't sure, Pope Julius also probably ruled over a broke church that increased its debt during his reign. This desperate need for money might have been the primary reason that Julius II allowed the collection of indulgences, which were spent on his pet projects, especially St. Peter's Basilica. The Dutch theologian Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536) fiercely criticized Julius II the year after the Pope's death, in his satirical dialogue "Julius Excluded from Heaven." The dialogue recounts a fictional tale of the drunken Pope's conversation with St. Peter, in which he justifies his life and plans to create a rival home from which he can conquer heaven. As the title implies, Peter ultimately excludes the Holy Father from entering heaven.

Of the Warrior Pope's many sins, the collection of indulgences might have been one of the most serious. Maybe that is hard to understand, but indulgences depend on the people's sinfulness. The more a person sins, the more people who are willing to pay the indulgences the church requires. When the church is broke, those indulgences are needed to accomplish the goals of the church leadership. Which means the church needs people to sin to raise the funds for various projects, or even to pay off the church's debt. It is a practice that the Protestant Church has condemned since the very beginning of the Reformation. In the Catholic Church, indulgences were not voluntary, but commanded over and above any tithes or sacrifices. And sometimes, indulgences were paid to release loved ones from extended stays in purgatory. The German Dominican Friar Johann Tetzel (1465 – 1554) is credited with using the phrase "when the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs," in the collection of his indulgences. It is this phrase that enraged Martin Luther and launched the Reformation.

Hosea makes a similar accusation against the church of his day. The priests have multiplied in number, but that growth has meant the church needs to raise more money. As a result, they have cheered on the people's sins and have begun taking all the sacrifices to eat, rather than just the portion reserved for the priests. Hosea describes all of this as the priests feeding "on the sins of my people" and relishing "their wickedness." They celebrate the sins of the people so that they can increase the sacrifices of the people and line their own pockets rather than strive for the well-being of the people.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Hosea 5