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Jonah and the Call to Constant Conversion

Depiction of Jonah in a champlevé enamel (1181) by Nicholas of Verdun in the Verduner altar at Klosterneuburg abbey, Austria. [en.wikipedia.org]

A Scriptural Reflection on the Readings for January 25, 2015 | Third Sunday in Ordinary Time | Carl E. Olson

Readings:
• Jon 3:1-5, 10
• Psa 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
• 1 Cor 7:29-31
• Mk 1:14-20

“Let us show ourselves people of Nineveh, not of Sodom”, wrote St. Gregory of Nazianzus, commenting on the story of the prophet Jonah. “Let us amend our wickedness, lest we be consumed with it. Let us listen to the preaching of Jonah, lest we be overwhelmed by fire and brimstone.”

Such language isn’t common or popular. After all, how can we say God is love and full of mercy if we talk in such a way? As one angry atheist wrote to me years ago, “Why should I believe in a God who delights in throwing people into the flames of hell?”

Well, you shouldn’t. And, in fact, today’s readings reveal that God not only loves mankind, he makes provision for our salvation. The readings, notes Fr. Hans Urs von Balthasar in Light of the Word (Ignatius Press, 1993), “all emphasize the urgency of conversion, for there is no time for anything else.”

That phrase—“there is no time for anything else”—can be understood in two complimentary ways. First, time is short; it is transitory by nature, and our natural bodies will eventually expire and then we’ll face life after time. This is emphasized in the message taken by Jonah to the Assyrians: “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed.” Saint Paul, in his letter to the Christians at Corinth, is equally insistent: “I tell you, brothers and sisters, the time is running out.” And our Lord, preaching in Galilee, declared, “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand.”

Secondly, since time is short and the time is at hand, our time should be dedicated to what is lasting, eternal, and indestructible. “Time is short”, quipped Cardinal John Henry Newman, “eternity is long.” The perennial temptation is to flee the relentless march of time by immersing ourselves in time-bound pleasures, activities, and distractions. These can be sinful, such as the wickedness practiced by the Ninevites, or be good things turned into the ultimate good, such as work, recreation, and relationships.

This is the point made by Paul, who didn’t intend to dismiss the worth of marriage or work, but was exhorting Christians to see and understand them in the light of the eschaton—the end of time and the full revelation of God’s glory and promises. “In and of itself”, noted von Balthasar, “time is so pressing that one cannot settle into it with unconcerned comfort.”

Jonah, of course, did not wish to embark on an uncomfortable mission. Consequently, he experienced even greater discomfort. But the bigger issue for Jonah, as it is for all of us, is not so much material comfort as it is spiritual sloth. The Catechism explains that “acedia or spiritual sloth goes so far as to refuse the joy that comes from God and to be repelled by divine goodness” (par 2094).

Jonah was actually repelled and angered by God’s gift of mercy and salvation to the hated Assyrians. When the Assyrians turned away from their evil way and God did not carry out the destruction of Nineveh, Jonah did not rejoice or praise God: “But this greatly displeased Jonah, and he became angry” (Jon 4:1). Why was he angry? St. Augustine noted that the prophet “was frustrated over the redemption and salvation of the Gentiles!” Jonah had to learn that God does not desire the destruction of his creatures, but their holiness and perfection (see Jon 4:9-11).

One lesson to be learned is that it’s not just those people “out there”, in the world, who need conversion and cleansing, but also those of us who have been baptized into Christ and are members of his mystical Body. When Simon and Andrew abandoned their nets to follow Christ, they embarked on the path of conversion. But we know it was a long and often difficult path, filled with misunderstandings, failings, and, in the case of Peter, denial of the Lord.

We also need constant conversion, for there is no time for anything else.

(This "Opening the Word" column originally appeared in the January 22, 2012, edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)

Regnum Christi

Come Follow Me

U. S. A. | SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

January 25, 2015. Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Father Jason Brooks, LC

Mark 1:14-20

After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God: "This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel." As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen. Jesus said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men." Then they abandoned their nets and followed him. He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets. Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I adore you. You alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in the Glory of God the Father. Lord, I love you and wish to know you more intimately, since you are goodness and mercy itself.

Petition: Lord, grant that I may follow you faithfully all the days of my life.

1. Repent and Believe in the Good News: There is no time to waste. We have one life to live and only one chance to live it. Jesus is trying to tell us that we have to make the most of it. We have heard about Jesus before. Perhaps we have been going to church and listening to his word for decades. However, have we allowed Christ’s message of love and mercy to penetrate our heart? Have we turned away from all attachment to sin in our life and really followed the Gospel?

2. Follow Me and I Will Make You Fishers of Men: We can’t forget that the essence of Christianity is following Jesus, the Son of God. As his mother Mary told the waiters at the wedding at Cana, “Do whatever he tells you” (John 2:5). Jesus is the real protagonist in our lives. He takes the initiative to call us to himself and to follow him more closely. He invites us to follow him in proclaiming the Good News to the whole world. It is not enough to know Christ. We have to share our faith with others and let the Gospel direct our decision-making process.

3. Leaving Their Father in the Boat, They Followed Him: We naturally want to be comfortable and do things familiar to us. In fact, most ads we see appeal to our desire to rest and be secure. However, Jesus breaks the mold and commands us to leave our comfort zone. Unless we first change ourselves, we cannot expect to change the world. Until we first dedicate ourselves to knowing Christ better and more intimately, we will not be ardent apostles of his kingdom. Only after we have had a personal encounter with Christ can we experience the bliss of loving him more and cooperating in his saving mission. As Pope Saint John Paul II so often encouraged us, echoing the words of Christ himself, “Be not afraid!” Don’t be afraid to leave your comfort zone to serve Christ in love.

Conversation with Christ: Jesus, I want to follow you more closely. Help me to know you as you are so that I can love you as you deserve to be loved. Eternal Father, grant me the fullness of your grace, which consumes all weakness, so that my heart will be lifted up with an indescribable enthusiasm to embrace my cross and follow faithfully in the footsteps of your Son.

Resolution: Today I will perform an act of charity that I have neglected or been afraid to do for some time.

Jonah: God’s Reluctant Messenger

Dr. Mark Giszczak

Menologion_of_Basil_008

January 25, 2015
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
First Reading: Jonah 3:1-5, 10
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/012515.cfm

It is easy to be judgmental, but hard to be understanding. It is easier to hold a grudge than to let it go. But since we worship a God of mercy, his plan for the world can sometimes differ from ours. In this Sunday’s first reading, the prophet Jonah finds himself experiencing this conflict in his gut—feeling deeply vindictive, but called by God to be a messenger of mercy.

Running Away from God

At the beginning of the Book of Jonah, God tells the prophet to go and preach a message of judgment to Ninevah, the capital city of the Assyrian empire. Jonah lived during the reign of Jeroboam II in the northern kingdom of Israel (2 Kgs 14:25) a few generations before the time when Assyria would conquer and assimilate Israel, so Assyria is a looming enemy. Rather than responding to God in obedience, Jonah takes off for a far country on a sailing vessel. Famously, he is swallowed by a big fish, prays for deliverance, and is regurgitated onto the beach. Why does Jonah run away from God’s call? It would seem that proclaiming divine judgment on his enemies would be enjoyable for a vindictive man, but Jonah knows what the Lord is like: “a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love” (Jonah 4:2 RSV). By preaching a message of judgment, Jonah just might become an agent of mercy.

(Whether Jonah was actually swallowed by a fish or not has prompted endless debates about the event’s probability, scientific possibility, miraculous nature, etc. from St. Augustine defending its historical accuracy [Letter 102, sec. 31] to modern apologists retelling a dubious legend of a sailor being swallowed by a sperm whale in 1891. If Jonah were actually swallowed by a whale and survived, it would be a miracle not a natural occurrence.)

Ninevah

After his travails at sea, Jonah hears the Lord call him “the second time” (Jonah 3:1). Not surprisingly, he decides to obey this time rather than risk any more escape routes fraught with divine dangers. So he goes to Ninevah and preaches a message of divine judgment: “Yet forty days, and Ninevah shall be overthrown!” (Jonah 3:4 RSV) One can imagine the judgmental relish in the prophet’s voice, while hearing a twinge of doubt knowing how merciful his God is. The text calls Ninevah an ir-gedolah lelohim, “a great city to God,” perhaps to be translated as “a divinely large city” or “a city so big that even God thinks it’s big.” We are told it was “a three days’ journey,” which could indicate the city’s size (also indicated by the population note of “120,000 persons” [4:11]) or the distance from Jonah’s origin to destination.

Repentance

When Jonah preaches his ominous message, everyone in the city responds. The king even issues a decree that all citizens are to fast and wear sackcloth, even down to the cows and sheep. Now this is the right way to respond to God. Even though we have no reason to think the Ninevites knew the God of Israel and we have no other historical record of their great conversion moment, the point is that they exemplify true repentance in their response to God’s messenger. Rather than taking the message of destruction as a final opportunity to sin, they see it as a chance for redemption and throw themselves headlong into repenting. God does not like half-way, insincere penitence—see “I will spew you out of my mouth” in Rev 3:16—but whole-hearted, genuine, and complete change. There is nothing half-baked about the Ninevites’ response.

Pity and Pouting

Now “God saw what they did” (3:10) and he mercifully relents from the disastrous judgment he was going to bring upon Ninevah. The beauty of this is that God notices not only when we sin, but also when we repent. He cares and he has pity. What we do matters. When we are tempted to feel that life lacks meaning, we would do well to remember how “God saw” the Ninevites and their change of heart. Of course, from Jonah’s perspective, God’s merciful response is the worst thing that could have happened. He was hoping to watch the city get pummeled by fire and brimstone (like the disciples in Luke 9:54), but instead, his preaching brings salvation to his enemy. Rather than welcoming the people back to God, Jonah goes to pout. He blames God with a “see, I told you so” moment (see 4:1-2). God insists on his prerogative over his creation and rejects Jonah’s silly anger, like the vineyard master who pays all the laborers the same wage despite how long they worked (Matt 20:1-16). The Lord trumps Jonah’s pouting with divine pity for those who repent.

Running Back to God

At different times in our own lives we might find ourselves in the Ninevites’ shoes or in Jonah’s. We may stand in need of sincere repentance from sin and so can humbly, yet confidently expect God’s forgiveness, particularly in the Sacrament of Confession. Of course, we might find ourselves puffed up and incensed like Jonah, wishing that God were more “fair”—as we like to say. But that also might be a great opportunity to revisit the confessional and acknowledge our own need for forgiveness. Rather than running away, perhaps we can find the grace to run back to God. Rather than pouting on a hillside like the reluctant prophet, we might come to share in God’s generously merciful heart.

Scripture Speak: Fishers of Men

Gayle Somers

shutterstock_129954743

In Ordinary Time, we hear “the preaching of the kingdom of God” through all the lectionary readings. Today, we find a dramatization of what that means for some of us.

Gospel (Read Mk 1:14-20)

In last Sunday’s Gospel, we reflected on Jesus’ first meeting with Andrew, John, and Simon Peter. These men were very interested in the new Rabbi whom John the Baptist, their teacher, had called “the Lamb of God.” Today’s reading describes how they, along with John’s brother, James, moved from being interested in Jesus to becoming His intimate companions and co-workers. How did this happen?

We see that our episode takes place “after John had been arrested.” John’s public ministry had come to an end. His arrest, as well as the appearance of the One for whom John had prepared them, certainly must have deeply stirred his disciples. They had a lot to think about. They returned to their livelihood—fishing. Perhaps quiet times on the water gave them opportunities to mull over all that was happening. Into this setting steps Jesus, preaching in Galilee as the Baptist had once done at the Jordan River: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel.” Such a startling message! Words like these could only mean one thing in Israel: the long wait for the Messiah had finally ended. Something new was about to begin.

Jesus passed by Simon and Andrew as they were casting their nets into the sea. He recognized them, of course, and called out over the water: “Come after Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” What a strange invitation to men who caught fish for a living. Why would fishermen want to catch men instead? We can assume that these dramatic words to the men in the boat, coming at a time when their heads must have been full of all the hope and expectation they had received as the Baptist’s disciples, were simply irresistible to them. The invitation answered a desire that was likely already forming in them. Recall that when Andrew first met Jesus, his immediate impulse was to go get his brother and bring him to “the Messiah.” Andrew already gave evidence of wanting to be a “fisher of men.” The Good News about Jesus was meant to be shared.

In response to the call of Jesus, Simon and Andrew “abandoned their nets and followed Him.” They instantly recognized their new vocation in this direct and personal invitation. John and his brother, James, likewise got this specific call to start a new life with Jesus, so they left their father and the other workers in answer to it.

We can’t miss the meaning here. These ordinary fishermen were not simply going to join the crowds that began to gather around Jesus, hearing Him preach and coming to believe in Him. Rather, theirs was a specific call to a specific vocation: to be apostolic “fishers of men.” They would no longer ply their trade in boats on the sea. They were the first of so many, both men and women, in all the centuries that have since passed, for whom the call to discipleship is a call to radical abandonment of all worldly occupations. For them, “to repent, and believe in the Gospel” means singular service, as priests and religious.

What about the rest of us?

Possible response: Lord Jesus, thank You for calling men and women to You in this remarkable way. May many today hear this call read at Mass as the fishermen heard it in their boats.

First Reading (Read Jonah 3:1-5, 10)

Jonah, a prophet of Israel in about 780 B.C., was called by God to preach a message of repentance to the very wicked Assyrian city of Nineveh. The people of Israel were terrified of the Assyrians, because they were ruthless and cruel in their victories over conquered peoples. They had a vicious policy of deporting anyone who survived their attacks, and because the Israelites knew their land to be a holy land, a gift from God, they hated the thought of ever being sent away from it. Jonah did not want to preach repentance to them; he didn’t think God should offer them that kind of mercy.

Nevertheless, three days in the belly of a fish convinced Jonah he couldn’t avoid the mission. He eventually went to Nineveh and announced, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed.” What was the reaction to the reluctant prophet’s message? When the people heard it, “they believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.” Here we have a picture that helps us begin to answer the question about what happens to those of us who hear God’s call to repentance and belief but do not get a particular call to drop everything for a new vocation, as did the apostles. The people of Nineveh took action to demonstrate their willingness to turn to a new way of life. God’s call to man, all through our history, requires a concrete response, a willful changing of our minds (“repentance” in Greek literally means “change of mind”) about Him and ourselves. Even when we are not asked to “abandon” our vocations, we are asked to make a radical turn away from ourselves and toward God. Surely the Ninevites continued their fishing, their trading, their pottery-making, their parenting. Yet, they were willing to make a clear break from their pride by fasting and wearing sackcloth. They recognized the darkness of their previous way of life and were ready to listen to God.

Happily, we have in our other readings more direction about how those of us not called to a religious vocation can live our lives as disciples of Jesus.

Possible response: Heavenly Father, help me be as resolute as the Ninevites when I hear Your call to repentance and belief.

Psalm (Read Ps 25:4-9)

The psalmist gives all of us, invited to a religious vocation or not, an excellent way to respond concretely to God’s call to repentance and belief. These verses form a heartfelt prayer for God’s guidance into the life He has for us: “Your ways, O LORD, make known to me; teach me Your paths…for You are God my Savior.” The first mark of repentance’s true humility is a willingness to be taught and directed by God. This is the difference between remorse over sin, which is largely emotional, and true repentance. The psalmist reminds us of something we saw in the story of Jonah. God desires to extend His forgiveness to sinners, even the worst of us: “Good and upright is the LORD; thus He shows sinners the way.”

Whenever we hear God’s call to repentance and belief (as both the Ninevites and apostles did), our first step is to pray, “Teach me Your ways, O LORD.”

Possible response: The psalm is, itself, a response to our other readings. Read it again prayerfully to make it your own.

Second Reading (Read 1 Cor 7:29-31)

How can these verses help us understand how to live our lives in this world, especially since St. Paul says, “For the world in its present form is passing away”? Well, there’s the key. Those of us not called to a religious vocation must understand what St. Paul is teaching us here. The context of these verses is quite important. In this part of his letter, St. Paul is answering questions sent to him from the Corinthian church. There had been some confusion about whether marrying was sinful or not. In vs. 26 (not included in today’s reading), St. Paul says, “in view of the impending distress it is well for a person to remain as he is.” He likely was expecting an outbreak of persecution against Christians from a hostile pagan city. In that case, starting a family would be imprudent. However, he goes on to say that marrying is not a sin. He also gives a universal maxim for how to live in the world, yet not be of it: hold lightly to everything. Our marriages, the events that cause tears or laughter, our possessions, our occupations—none of these are eternal. Some of us, answering God’s call to repentance and belief in the Gospel, will need to abandon these for Jesus’ sake. In doing so, the religious become for us a foreshadowing of heaven, where God is all to all. The rest of us will answer God’s call while remaining in our worldly lives, but we must live them in the light of what the others, called to religious vocations, teach us. We don’t abandon our vocations; we abandon our attachment to them, never allowing them to become ends in themselves. Even in our marriages, God comes first.

Possible response: Lord Jesus, please give me the grace to recognize my attachments and to loosen my grip on them.

One Bread, One Body

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<< Sunday, January 25, 2015 >>

3rd Sunday Ordinary Time

Jonah 3:1-5, 10
1 Corinthians 7:29-31
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Psalm 25:4-9
Mark 1:14-20
Similar Reflections

LIKE A FISH OUT OF WATER

"They immediately abandoned their nets and became His followers." —Mark 1:18

When a fish is caught and taken out of the water, it dies. The former watery world that it knew "is passing away" (1 Cor 7:31). Similarly, everything changes when we enter into the kingdom of God. Living in God's kingdom is as different from our pre-Christian life as it is for that fish trying to live on land. Lifestyles that worked underwater no longer work in fresh air. In order for the fish to live on land, it literally has to die to its old life. The fish would need to die and receive a new nature to be able to live on land.

So it is with us human beings. To live in the kingdom of God, we die to our old nature in Baptism and become "sharers of the divine nature" (2 Pt 1:4) when we rise from the waters of Baptism. Now our old lifestyle won't work. Once we begin living the new, baptized life in Christ, we can no longer live the lifestyle we had before Christ. We have to put away the things we used to do before we gave ourselves to Jesus. We can no longer live as do the nonbelievers (1 Pt 4:2-3). We die to ourselves, pick up our cross each day, follow Jesus, and live the new lifestyle that befits a member of the household of God (1 Tm 3:15).

Are you struggling to live a godly life? Are you having a hard time breathing the risen air? Maybe you're not dead yet. Ask Jesus to crucify your old nature (Gal 6:14-15) and raise you up to life to the full (Jn 10:10).

Prayer: Father, I want everything You have for me. I want it all. Take everything that keeps me from You. Give me Your risen life.

Promise: "Reform your lives and believe in the gospel!" —Mk 1:15

Praise: Praise Jesus, the only Way to the Father! Praise Jesus, risen from the dead! Praise Jesus, soon to come.

Acquiring True Riches

Pastor’s Column

3^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

January 25, 2015

“I tell you, brothers and sister, the time is running out. From now on….

let those buying (act as) not owning, those using the world as not using it fully.

For the world in its present form is passing away.”

1 Corinthians 7:29-31

One thing we can know for sure about life is that our time on earth is limited. A man once had a dream (I have related this previously in a sermon). He found himself in his own house, but strangely, it was full of different furniture than his own. However, in the corner was his beloved piano, but someone else was playing it. And, when he woke this man realized God was speaking to him in this dream – that all we have on earth will one day belong to someone else!

What is a Christian to do? Of course, we must accumulate things and savings and plan for the future! But how well do we plan for our eternal future? There is no need to be envious of those who have more than we do. Life is like a big cruise ship, in a way. How foolish it is to accumulate more and more furniture on a boat that is not really our own, on a voyage that is quick and temporary, and not make any plans for when we disembark! It is precisely for this reason that many who appear now to have so little (they are in steerage on the cruise ship) will be extremely wealthy and of high status upon arrival, because they discovered the path to true riches: our faith and how we treat our neighbor, not by the amount of furniture we accumulate!

Something I like to keep in mind is that, in life, we are all renters. The world belongs to Jesus Christ, who created it and saved it, and one day he will come back to reclaim it. But he has promised us that how we use the present world and our wealth now, which does not in the long run belong to us at all (since we have to give everything back at death), will ensure that we will have true riches, that which is our own, that which no one can ever take away, waiting for us in heaven.

Remember what the Lord said: “The person who is trustworthy in very small matters will also be trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in small matters is also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will give you what is yours? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours?

Apparently the world has more billionaires now than at any time in world history! In the end, what does it matter—as the saying goes, they can’t take it with them. But all of us can strive for true riches, that which Jesus Christ will be passing out after we leave the boat. He has already paid the price for our salvation, but he also counsels us to acquire true riches on earth by how we live and the way we treat our neighbor, by our lives and sacrifices. We do this because we know what is coming, and we know that it will be very good.

Father Gary

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