We hear a passage today from the middle
of the story of Jonah. Jonah had gone to
Nineveh to preach God’s message of repentance, having great success. The people of Nineveh had a change of
heart. They put on sack cloth and ashes
as a sign of repentance. The king of
Nineveh led his people in showing God how sorry they were. Yet, Jonah was not happy at all at the
positive way this message was received.
He was very distraught over this development, since the Nineveh was the
capital of Assyria, the bitter enemy of Israel.
Jonah wanted his enemy destroyed and punished. He didn’t want to see them forgiven by God;
he did not want to see them prospering.
Jonah was so distraught that he wished
to die. We can get so upset and
distraught about things as well, can’t we?
We can think we know what is right and just, but the ways of God are
often so different from the ways of the world.
We want vengeance and punishment for those who wrong us; we usually don’t
we to see them forgiven or given mercy.
Yet, as a priest, when I see a person who forgives in their lives, it is
amazing the transformation that takes place. If we foster resentment and
bitterness in our hearts instead of forgiveness, love, mercy, what is that
telling us about the way that we live out our faith?
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