Monday, XXVII Week of Ordinary Time
(Jonah 1.1-2.2;11)
Americans may today recognize the city of Mosul in Iraq because of the violence that continually flares up there. But more would recognize the city by its former name, Nineveh, capital of the ancient kingdom of Assyria. In that city lies the shrine of the burial place of the prophet Jonah which many Muslims and some tourists visit. The sanctuary, however, is something of a ruse. It does not go back to anywhere near Biblical times. Even if it did, we know that the character Jonah is really a literally fiction.
Of course, this does not mean that the Bible is in error. Quite the contrary, the Book of the Prophet Jonah brilliantly reveals the will of God. It shows God’s plan to save the whole world and not just a relatively small number of Israelites. Equally significant, Jonah demonstrates how the proudest of people can repent of their sins.
The passage we read from Jonah today pictures pagan sailors (could we think of any group more hardened?) scandalized by Jonah’s disobeying God’s command and then begging God for mercy. This sentiment and action directly oppose the response of the Israelites to God during the period of the latter kings. They notoriously abandoned the Law without looking back. God takes pity on the sailors by calming the seas despite their atrocious act of human sacrifice. We should listen to the story as yet another reminder of God’s love despite our sins and His mercy always available upon sincere request.
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