Jesus is certainly "unlike other people," (2 Cor 3:1) and if we are his faithful followers then we ought not to be surprised when we find that we also are unlike other people.

Jesus was unlike what was expected of the Messiah. He looked at things in a completely different way. And this was what the Pharisees least expected. They worked from the Law; Jesus worked from the heart.

For them God was a lawgiver, a judge, a king. For Jesus, and he ought to know better than anyone, God was a bridegroom, a lover. That is how he answers the Pharisees question, 'Surely the Bridegroom's attendants would never fast while the Bridegroom was still with them.'

The Church in choosing that first reading from Hosea and putting it together with this text from Mark seems to want to stress this too. Hosea uses the language of love and talks about a betrothal.

This language of love is also stressed by Paul in his letter to the Corinthians, 'You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts. This is not the language of a solicitor's letter, this is the language of a lover - someone writing with passion. This is a reflection of our God who is not aloof and cold and distant; no, He is close and caring and passionate about us.