First Reading (Jonah 3:1-10)
“Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.” Jonah obeyed the word of the Lord and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth”.
The reason why the people listened to Jonah was because his words were God’s words. When something is spoken under the anointing and the power of God, it has a capacity to change the lives of people, because it is God’s word. When we speak only human words, advise and tell people what to do, won’t make much of a difference in their lives. Under the anointing of God, a little word that is spoken has the power to change. It is important to find out are we operating under the power of the Holy Spirit or on human power alone.
“This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.”
In the Old Testament, there is the concept of God being angry and punishing, and you repent to be free of punishment. Even today, most people work in this paradigm; God is pleased with you He will bless you. If you don’t please Him, He will punish you. So, people repent to escape punishment.
The New Testament is very different to this concept. To understand the Old Testament, you need the light of the New testament.
Gospel (Luke 11:29-32)
“As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation”.
The sign of Jonah; Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days. Jesus was in the belly of the earth for 3 days. The sign is the resurrection of Jesus.
Many people limit their religious experience to get something from God. The message of salvation, the death and resurrection of the Lord that brings eternity into our lives is missed. Many people are not even interested in that because their only interests are in this world.
The greatest help that God has given us is the message of salvation; forgiveness of sin, freedom from our broken nature and the opportunity of the Lord living inside us That is why Jesus said that a sign that is greater than the signs of the Old Testament will be given. That’s why we need to examine our hearts and find out have we lost the main message of Christianity which is the forgiveness from sin, the gift of the Holy Spirit into our lives and the opportunity to have God live in us to have a miraculous, transformed life.
“The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the people of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom; and now something greater than Solomon is here”.
The Queen of the South was touched by the wisdom of Solomon. Jesus says a wisdom greater than that of Solomon is here, but you are not responding to that.
“The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now something greater than Jonah is here”.
In the Old Testament it was fear and punishment that people responded to. In the New Testament Jesus is bringing us forgiveness and love. If we remain at the level of fear and punishment, we are in the Old Testament. Instead are we are discovering something greater than Jonah: forgiveness and love?
This is explained beautifully in today’s reflection in the Magnificat written by Pope Francis.
“His outstretched arms on the cross are the most telling sign that he is a friend who is willing to stop at nothing”:
If we miss this and limit Jesus to a God who provides stuff and solve our problems, we have lost this beautiful revelation of the love of God. He is a friend who stretches out His arms for you.
“He had always loved those who were his in the world, but now he showed how perfect his love was (Jn 13:1). Saint Paul said that his life was one of complete trust in that self-sacrificing love: I live in faith: faith in the Son of God who loved me and who sacrificed himself for my sake (Ga 2:20)”.
Today is a good day to ask if we are open to this love or are we caught up in the Old Testament; getting favors, asking God to help, fear His punishments… Or are we open to the self-sacrificing love of God? Today, allow this love to become real to you. So don’t say anything, just become aware of His self-giving love for you.
Pope Francis continues;
“Look to his cross, cling to him, let him save you, for those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness, and loneliness”.
Isn’t this what we are really looking for? But we are telling the Lord what to do. We are asking Him to send someone to fill our loneliness or what to do to take away our sorrow. In these 40 days, lets be quiet and allow His love to set us free from sin, take away the sorrow, the emptiness and the loneliness. If you are set free from sin you are actually set free from the other three as well. Because sin is to have the wrong understanding of reality; looking for happiness and solutions in the wrong places.
When our sin is dealt with God’s love, we are set free of all the other complications of life. You start this by opening yourself to this love. That’s the message of the New Testament. Jesus is the love of God, the unconditional love of God brought to us in the person of Jesus Christ. That is why He said, it is more than the sign of Jonah.
Pope Francis writes;
“And if you sin and stray far from him, he will come to lift you up by the power of his cross. Never forget that he forgives us seventy times seven. Time and time again, he bears us on his shoulders. No one can strip us of the dignity bestowed upon us by this boundless and unfailing love".
He is coming after us. Experiencing this love makes us merciful, loving, kind, reaching out to the lives of others. Without doing that, trying to be merciful and kind because God will not give me what I want is Old Testament understanding. It limits us to the Old Testament dimensions.
“With a tenderness that never disappoints but is always capable of restoring our joy, he makes it possible for us to lift up our heads and to start anew…. The Lord’s love is greater than all our problems, frailties, and flaws…. He embraced the prodigal son, he embraced Peter after his denials, and he always, always, always embraces us after every fall, helping us to rise and get back on our feet”.
Without this dimension Christianity is incomplete. Today, let us open ourselves to this love. Every solution is in this love, not outside somewhere else.
“Because the worst fall, and pay attention to this, the worst fall, the one that can ruin our lives, is when we stay down and do not allow ourselves to be helped up”.
When people get into despair they give up. They say I am too far gone, God can’t help me. Or they justify their sin and don’t repent. When you do either of these you get stuck and you lose this great mercy and love of God.
“His forgiveness and salvation are not something we can buy, or that we have to acquire by our own works or efforts…. His self-sacrifice on the cross is so great that we can never repay it, but only receive it with immense gratitude and with the joy of being more greatly loved than we could ever imagine: He loved us first (1 Jn 4:19)”.
That is why Christians can always be joyful if they can touch the mercy of God, His forgiveness and his love.
“Keep your eyes fixed on the outstretched arms of Christ crucified…. And when you go to confess your sins, believe firmly in his mercy which frees you of your guilt. Contemplate his blood poured out with such great love, and let yourself be cleansed by it. In this way, you can be reborn ever anew”.
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