The story of Jonah who got swallowed by a whale before he finally committed to doing what God asked him to do could very well be our own story. Jonah 1:17, Yahweh prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Oftentimes we are confronted with difficult decisions in our lives and are sometimes full of fear and doubt. In today's first reading we are reminded not to hesitate but to obey the Lord's bidding. For it will always be the right thing to do for no matter how impossible a task may be, He can always work things to our advantage. But things can get mixed up and can be misinterpreted, misunderstood, overlooked and taken for granted. It's a good thing we all deserve a second chance just like Jonah. If at first we thought we were doing the right thing but ended up mistaken then we should not despair rather be thankful to God for the experience of being able to find out what we should have done or not. God allows us to live our lives the way we wanted it in order to become fully capable of making decisions based on our everyday experiences. It is a consolation to know that whenever we are off track He never fails to bring us back to our senses. This 1st reading taken from the Book of Jonah has very significant signs and symbols that we can attribute to our Lenten observance. The theme for Lent is penance from sin and conversion. The Ninevites believed in God, converted and repented of their sins. The Church reminds us of these very important things that we should always keep in mind so as to gain the favor rather than the wrath of God. Here is a question that each one of us would like to know the answer. Could God ever threaten to do evil on His people. Isn't it true that God is All Goodness and Holy? Then how could He possibly carry out evil? There is a misunderstanding if we would ever think that this bible passage in today's 1st reading is meant that way. What we can be very sure about is that evil begets evil. We reap what we sow. We should see it coming our way, sooner or later whenever we do something evil. But God can combat and reverse evil if we make a decision to turn away from it. This is how we should look at it. The people during the Old Testament are savage and their understanding of God is limited to their experience in which we are definitely at an advantage. Why? In the New Testament, we have Jesus, God's only begotten son who came to us to suffer and die for our sake. The ultimate sacrifice of love the world has ever known. This we really ought to see, feel and experience. Amen. Hallelujah!
Jonah 3:1-10
...it took three days to go through it. 4 Jonah began his journey through the city, and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,” 5 when the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth...When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, he relented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it out.
Whenever a particular human right is being violated certain activist groups passionately rally to defend such right that is in question. What about the right of God? We are so concerned about our own personal agenda and we fail to realize that we need to address it more than anything else. According to Pope Benedict XVI, Jus Divinum is the right of God which constitutes the proper and correct response of God’s creatures such as man to his Creator. This we ought to realize and take action. We should do all the good that we are supposed to do to a God who created us. No matter how sinful we have become if we are truly sorry for our sins and are willing to mend our ways then we would find that God will not refuse nor turn His back on us. Let us not be so naive into thinking that we can get away with anything and cheat God. Let us be fair and truly square in dealing with things that concern not just our future but our eternal destiny. Whether it's heaven or hell, we would have to decide for that not God. If we choose to do evil then we are surely headed where it's bound but if we remain faithful to God and all that He represents then we are headed to a place prepared for us by God in heaven. We are sure to go where our hearts lead us. Amen. Hallelujah!
Psalms 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19
R: A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
1 [3] Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. 2 [4] Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me. (R) 10 [12] A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. 11 [13] Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
Stubborn, stiff necked, hard headed and what else can we say to ourselves when we still doubt and falter in our faith in God. For so many times already, God has moved and shown His mighty power working in our lives in so many instances and yet we still fail to act and respond in accordance to what God has done for us. We still insist on doing things in our own way instead of acknowledging the truth that there is nothing really more we ought to see and witness than the only Beloved Son of God who came down from heaven in order to suffer and die on the cross just to show His great love for all of us. If we can think of something greater than this then maybe we can continue to be stubborn and be justified in our evil ways but we can search long, far and wide and find none. Sometimes we rely on our feelings, intuition, prevailing situation, by trend and popular choice. Sometimes too there is nothing wrong with it because these are all part of our human nature. Our God relates to us in a very personal way. He knows the exact message that we need at the right moment. God in His Infinite goodness and intelligence wanted to communicate His love and mercy to us but we are limited in our capacities to understand everything that there are times when these creative means as in signs help us when we make decisions. God never stopped showing us in a variety of means His great love and mercy for us throughout generations. It is very sad that in spite of it all we sometimes just don't get it. How many more signs are we waiting for to come to us before we do what we have to do? In the fullness of time God has already sent the most perfect sign of all. Let us no longer be like this evil generation who continue to be blind of it. Let us not look any further. Let us not be fooled or tempted by the false propaganda of the world and its lies. If we are to look very closely and think deeply we are not going to end up making the wrong decisions and choices. God never runs out of things, situations and circumstances that constantly remind us of what we are supposed to do. We should be grateful for all these experiences that keep on coming one day after another to us. We must admit that somehow it gives us a boost in the midst of all the turmoil in this world we live in. Sometimes we take these things for granted and become insensitive. We fail to see the real meaning of the things we encounter and continue in our careless and stubborn ways. When this happens we end up missing the real point, the so called "greater than Jonah here". If we continue this attitude day in and out then we might find ourselves being condemned. Today's gospel warns us of this fate if we keep on passing up on all the countless signs that God has given us from the very beginning most especially the biggest and greatest sign. We ought to keep our hearts, minds and souls open to these inspirations that God gave, is giving and continues to give and not miss the greatest sign ever known. There is indeed something greater than Jonah that we ought to have seen by now. There is no other sign that could best lead us to the right path than the sign of God's love. For the love of God manifested in Jesus is the greatest love and sacrifice ever known. Amen. Hallelujah!
Luke 11:29-32
29 While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. 30 Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31 At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here. 32 At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.”
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