The tale of Jonah in the Old Testament is often
thought of as a children's story complete with a whale & a great
adventure. Yet, the real message of the
book of Jonah is a very adult one that gives us all an opportunity to stretch
our understanding about God and his salvation. Today’s first reading tells of
God's second call to Jonah and his less than enthusiastic response.
God tells Jonah "to go to Nineveh,
the great city." Nineveh was the
capital of Assyria, the nation that had destroyed the northern kingdom of
Israel and that held the southern kingdom of Judah as a vassal state for almost
one hundred years. Assyria was a brutal occupying force that forever changed
Israel's future. Jonah is called out by
God to go and prophesy to the capital city of Israel’s enemy. Thus, we can understand the strong reaction
Jonah has, why he runs away from this calling.
Think if God asked one us to go to preach this message of repentance to
the base camp of the Taliban or to the terrorists who have been pursuing us for
the last decade in order to save them, to see them fast in sackcloth &
ashes in response to this message, to see them ask God for forgiveness & to
change their ways. How rationally would
one of us respond to such a request from God?
We could berate and criticize Jonah for his little
faith or lack of tenacity. However, it might be more helpful for us to identify
with Jonah for a moment rather than to criticize him, to empathize with
the seemingly impossible mission to
which God has called him. With the tasks
we are called to do in our modern world, we could consider Jonah a patron saint
to whom we ask for intercessory prayers.
The message we receive from our modern secular world is that we cannot
make a big difference in the world, that we might as well just fall in line and
make the best living we can for ourselves & our family. Our calling from God and our values may tell
us we need to head East to Nineveh, but we all too often turn around & walk
west and get on the boat with Jonah as a means of escape. Perhaps we find it too difficult or too
lonely to walk the way of our faith, to choose the path of faith over the ways
of our secular world. And by running
away, perhaps we find ourselves in the belly of the whale, or out of touch with
our calling from God, or very distant from a sense of meaning & purpose.
Well, in the midst of hearing this story about Jonah,
we celebrate the memorial day of St Francis of Assisi. Though Francis was born way back in the late twelth
century more than 800 years ago, the way Francis lived out the Gospel in his
life, the way he voluntarily lived a life of poverty and saw God in nature and
all of creation, has a great affect on us today. Francis declared to the Lord his famous peace
prayer, asking God to make him a channel of his peace, to sow love where there
is hatred in the world. One of the
prisoners I visit in my prison ministry says he prays the words of that peace
prayer each day, that he so easily wants to lash out in anger and hatred to the
frustrations and struggles that experiences in prison, but he knows that God is
calling him to respond with love and peace. Yes, the message of Francis of Assisi means so
much to us today in our modern world.
Yes, one person can really have a positive affect in the world in the
way he responds, in the witness he gives to others. May this be an example for us all.
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