The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite us to contemplate our exercise of mercy especially as we are reminded in prayer of the mercy of God that we have known.
"A Thin Place"
The reading from the Prophet Jonah describes his anger at the mercy shown to Nineveh.
* [4:11] A selfish Jonah bemoans his personal loss of a gourd plant for shade without any concern over the threat of loss of life to the Ninevites through the destruction of their city. If a solicitous God provided the plant for a prophet without the latter’s effort or merit, how much more is God disposed to show love and mercy toward all people, Jew and Gentile, when they repent of their sins and implore divine pardon. God’s care goes beyond human beings to all creation, as in Job 38.1
Jonah is reproved by God. Psalm 86 is a supplication for help against enemies.
* [Psalm 86] An individual lament. The psalmist, “poor and oppressed” (Ps 86:1), “devoted” (Ps 86:2), “your servant” (Ps 86:2, 4, 16), “rescued…from the depths of Sheol” (Ps 86:13), attacked by the ruthless (Ps 86:14), desires only God’s protection (Ps 86:1–7, 11–17).2
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus prays The Lord’s Prayer.
* [11:1–4] The Matthean form of the “Our Father” occurs in the “Sermon on the Mount” (Mt 6:9–15); the shorter Lucan version is presented while Jesus is at prayer (see note on Lk 3:21) and his disciples ask him to teach them to pray just as John taught his disciples to pray. In answer to their question, Jesus presents them with an example of a Christian communal prayer that stresses the fatherhood of God and acknowledges him as the one to whom the Christian disciple owes daily sustenance (Lk 11:3), forgiveness (Lk 11:4), and deliverance from the final trial (Lk 11:4). See also notes on Mt 6:9–13.3
David Crawford comments that forgiveness and prayer bless and enrich our lives. These are also tools that often are underutilized and perhaps even neglected. The psalmist tells us that our God mercifully and graciously forgives, and Jesus teaches us to ask for that forgiveness. He then reminds us that we are not just to receive forgiveness, but to extend it as well.
The Gospel reading today is quite familiar, with Luke’s take on the prayer Jesus taught. As simple as this wonderful prayer is, it has a rich wisdom to it, especially with regards to forgiveness. Forgiveness is good for us, both in the giving and the receiving. Different translations of this beautiful prayer use different words for what needs forgiving. I have heard debts, trespasses and sins used (Luke mixes sins and debts), and each can be useful as I contemplate what, who and how to forgive.4
Don Schwager quotes “The privilege and responsibility of calling God Father,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).
"For the Savior said, 'When you pray, say, 'Our Father.' And another of the holy Evangelists adds, 'who art in heaven' (Matthew 6:9)... He gives his own glory to us. He raises slaves to the dignity of freedom. He crowns the human condition with such honor as surpasses the power of nature. He brings to pass what was spoken of old by the voice of the psalmist: 'I said, you are gods, and all of you children of the Most High' (Psalm 82:6). He rescues us from the measure of slavery, giving us by his grace what we did not possess by nature, and permits us to call God 'Father,' as being admitted to the rank of sons. We received this, together with all our other privileges, from him. One of these privileges is the dignity of freedom, a gift peculiarly befitting those who have been called to be sons. He commands us, therefore, to take boldness and say in our prayers, 'Our Father.'"(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 71)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on Jonah 4:1-11 comments that we can probably all think of times when we’ve been angry with God. But unlike Jonah, we may not have been so free to tell him how we were feeling. Maybe it’s because we think it’s a sin to be upset with the Lord. But anger is an emotion, and as such it is neither good nor bad. It’s what we do with it that matters. And the best thing we can do is to talk to the Lord about our feelings. When our anger flares up, we can look at it as we would look at the warning light on the dashboard of a car: maybe God wants to reveal to us what’s going on “under the hood”—what’s behind our feelings.
But the truth is, God does care. He cares for every hair on our head, every beat of our heart. He especially cares about how we are feeling, and he wants us to be honest and talk to him about it. Only then can he begin to lead us through a process of healing and restoration. That’s what he did for Jonah through the lesson of the gourd plant (Jonah 4:5-11). He will do the same for us, as long as we trust in him and believe that even when we are angry with him, he will never be angry with us. “Lord, when I am feeling angry with you, give me the courage to express it so that I can receive your healing touch.”6
Friar Jude Winkler explains how Jonah learns that even the cruel Ninevites are brothers and sisters to God. In Lukes’s Gospel, Jesus shares the petitions that are central to the Lord’s Prayer. Friar Jude reminds us of the counter cultural message in addressing God as “Abba” and being people who forgive as God forgives.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares how St Francis of Assisi responded to the rising tide of “consumer” culture, in which Francis’ father was fully engaged as a wealthy merchant. Francis refused to be a “user” of reality—buying and selling it to personal advantage (the I-it relationship). In fact, that is what he vigorously reacted against, and why he granted personal subjectivity to sun, moon, wind, animals, and even death, by addressing them as brother, sister, friend, and mother.
With the exception of Indigenous peoples, the sacramental meaning of the world was largely lost until its more recent rediscovery by seers and seekers like Teilhard de Chardin, Thomas Berry, Wendell Berry, Sallie McFague, Ilia Delio, Bill Plotkin, Mary Oliver, and Brian Swimme, to name a few luminaries. We Catholics ended up limiting “sacramentals” to things like religious medals, blessed candles, and holy water, instead of honoring the inherent holiness of the earth’s ores, beeswax, and H2O that actually formed them.7
As we pray, we extend forgiveness and seek mercy for our neglect of the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth.
References
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