The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to attend to the prompting of the Spirit for the signs of our call to be compassion, mercy, kindness, and forgiveness to the people we are led to encounter on our journey.
The reading from the Book of Jonah describes the conversion of Nineveh as a result of Jonah’s Obedience.
* [3:5] Great and small: the contrast can refer to distinctions of social class (prominent citizens and the poor).
* [3:7–8] Fasting and wearing sackcloth are signs of human repentance; here they are legislated even for the animals—a humorous touch, perhaps anticipating 4:11.
* [3:9–10] Scripture frequently presents the Lord as repenting (or, changing his mind) of the evil that he threatens; e.g., Gn 6:6–7; Jer 18:8. (Jonah, CHAPTER 3, n.d.)
Psalm 51 is a prayer for Cleansing and Pardon.
* [Psalm 51] A lament, the most famous of the seven Penitential Psalms, prays for the removal of the personal and social disorders that sin has brought. The poem has two parts of approximately equal length: Ps 51:3–10 and Ps 51:11–19, and a conclusion in Ps 51:20–21. The two parts interlock by repetition of “blot out” in the first verse of each section (Ps 51:3, 11), of “wash (away)” just after the first verse of each section (Ps 51:4) and just before the last verse (Ps 51:9) of the first section, and of “heart,” “God,” and “spirit” in Ps 51:12, 19. (Psalms, PSALM 51, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus addresses the demand for a Sign with reference to the Sign of Jonah.
* [11:29–32] The “sign of Jonah” in Luke is the preaching of the need for repentance by a prophet who comes from afar. Cf. Mt 12:38–42 (and see notes there) where the “sign of Jonah” is interpreted by Jesus as his death and resurrection. (Luke, CHAPTER 11, n.d.)
Eileen Burke-Sullivan was struck by the question of exactly what the “sign of Jonah,” that Jesus is speaking about in today’s Gospel, is.
God loves, calls to repentance through his agent, and then heals the wrongdoing of enemies. The condition of reception, because humans have free will, is that we acknowledge and accept God’s grace, not only for ourselves and our beloved, but for our enemies, despite the seeming impossibility of that.
This is a good way to start Lent. To consider that we imitate God most perfectly when we grasp the sign of Jonah, God’s compassion for his enemies – for those who hate him. During these days may we find the freedom to pray for our enemies – desiring the very best for each one. I feel called to ask God in prayer who he wants me to announce forgiveness for. May God begin with me – but may I become his partner in sharing that compassion among friends and enemies as Jonah did, and perhaps as my imaginary Fr. John the preacher might have done.
Oh God, in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my guilt . . . psalm 51 (Burke, 2023)
Don Schwager quotes “Don't put off conversion - tomorrow may never come,” by Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"God is not now so long-suffering in putting up with you that He will fail to be just in punishing. Do not say then: 'Tomorrow I shall be converted, tomorrow I shall please God, and all that I shall have done today and yesterday will be forgiven me.' What you say is true: God has promised forgiveness if you turn back to Him. But what He has not promised is that you will have tomorrow in which to achieve your conversion." (excerpt from Commentary on Psalm 144,11) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Jonah 3:1-10 comments that the Church calls each of us—baptized Catholics—to “share also in Christ’s prophetic office” and to “spread abroad a living witness to him” (Lumen Gentium, 12). Like Jonah, we, too, are called to hear God’s word and proclaim it. And like Jonah, we, too, can expect God to bring about changes in the people around us when we speak his words!
If you feel that God has spoken to you, don’t be afraid to share it, especially if your words are for someone’s “building up, encouragement, and solace” (1 Corinthians 14:3). You never know how your words could make a difference in the lives of the people around you. And if you’re not sure you are hearing God clearly, don’t get discouraged. Keep praying, keep listening, and keep believing that God is at work and wants to speak to you and through you.
“Jesus, I thank you that I can hear your voice and share it with others.” (Meditation on Jonah 3:1-10, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler contrasts the will of God for the conversion of Nineveh with the desire of Jonah for punishment of the evil Assyrian capital. The Sign of Jonah referred to by Jesus in Luke may refer to the days in the tomb before Resurrection or more likely the response of the people to a foreign prophet. Friar Jude notes that the absolute truth of signs desired by the Pharisees lacks the dimension of trust in God that a leap of faith requires.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Orthodox author John Chryssavgis who considers the desert as a symbol of both “deserted-ness” and God’s presence: Chryssavgis encourages us to face desert experiences instead of running away.
Ironically, you do not have to find the desert in your life; it normally catches up with you. Everyone does go through the desert…. It may be in the form of some suffering, or emptiness, or breakdown, or breakup, or divorce, or any kind of trauma that occurs in our life. Dressing this desert up through our addictions or attachments—to material goods, or money, or food, or drink, or success, or obsessions, or anything else we may care to turn toward or may find available to depend upon—will delay the utter loneliness and the inner fearfulness of the desert experience. If we go through this experience involuntarily, then it can be both overwhelming and crushing. If, however, we accept to undergo this experience voluntarily, then it can prove both constructive and liberating. (Chryssavgis, 2023)
We often need to examine our assumptions about people and situations in which we find ourselves as critical and judgemental and seek the grace to attend to the needs that we are called to address.
References
Burke, E. (2023, March 1). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved March 1, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/030123.html
Chryssavgis, J. (2023, March 1). Experiencing Our Own Deserts — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved March 1, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/experiencing-our-own-deserts-2023-03-01/
Jonah, CHAPTER 3. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 1, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/jonah/3?1
Luke, CHAPTER 11. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 1, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/11?
Meditation on Jonah 3:1-10. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved March 1, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/03/01/620483/
Psalms, PSALM 51. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved March 1, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/51?3
Schwager, D. (n.d.). The Sign of Jonah for an Evil Generation. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved March 1, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=mar1
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