God’s grace is offered to us as a freely given gift We hear about God’s grace in our story from the book of Jonah today. As we hear about Jonah being sent to convert the Ninevites, the mortal enemies of Ancient Israel, can we really blame him for wanting to run away? Although, in a way, I would love to be able to go to North Korea and have Kim Jong Un convert or to Syria or another country in the Middle East and having the leaders of ISIS repent. Wouldn’t it be great to put those problems behind us?
But while God was offering his love and mercy to the people of Nineveh, Jonah did not want any part of it. It revolted him. He just wanted to run away. We’re not really sure why Jonah was recalcitrant to God’s call. But, he reluctantly preached this message of repentance. Much to his dismay, the Nineties heard this message and took it to heart, repenting from their evil ways.
We want mercy for ourselves, right? We want God to forgive the sins we’ve done. But, often, we begrudge that mercy for others. We would more often want to see them punished for what they have done. I remember when I was in Ecuador, a lady came to the nuns of the parish to pay a mass intention. The mass intention was for the anger and power of God to come down on her husband, to punish him and make him suffer. You see, he had left her for another woman. We may not think someone is worthy of God’s mercy and graciousness. We may not think that they are capable of repentance. But who is worthy? God’s mercy and grace are freely given gifts that are offered to all. It is nothing we can earn by our own merits.
In the end, the Ninevites repented, they did penance, they reconciled with God. The story of Jonah and the Ninevites is a good story for us to hear during this holy season of Lent.
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