THE PRESENT DAY JONAH

When I was just new in the charismatic I always hear people pray for the blood of Jesus to cover and protect us. Today's 1st reading is a foreshadowing of the sacrificial blood of Jesus poured in Mt. Calvary for the redemption of our sins. It reminds us of the power of the blood of the lamb that shielded the Israelites from any destructive blow. We should rejoice that more than just the blood of the lamb we have the greatest power of the blood of Jesus made available to us when He obeyed the will of His Father to give up His life on the cross for our salvation. Amen. Hallelujah!

Exodus 11:10–12:14
...The lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish. You may take it from either the sheep or the goats. 6 You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, and then, with the whole assembly of Israel present, it shall be slaughtered during the evening twilight. 7 They shall take some of its blood and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel of every house in which they partake of the lamb. 8 That same night they shall eat its roasted flesh with unleavened bread and bitter herbs...13 But the blood will mark the houses where you are. Seeing the blood, I will pass over you; thus, when I strike the land of Egypt, no destructive blow will come upon you...

What Jesus has done for all of us is the ultimate sacrifice of love ever known in the entire history of mankind. It is impossible for us to repay what He has done but with hearts full of gratitude we can follow what the psalm reading today is telling us. Amen. Hallelujah!

P S A L M

Psalm 116:12-13. 15 and 16bc. 17-18
R: I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.
12 How shall I make a return to the LORD for all the good he has done for me?...I am your servant, the son of your handmaid; you have loosed my bonds. (R) 17 To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving, and I will call upon the name of the LORD. 18 My vows to the LORD I will pay in the presence of all his people.

In our bible study in San Lorenzo we learned from Fr. Tony that the book of Jonah was written in the post exilic period and was greatly influenced by the prophets Ezra and Nehemiah right after the period of Exile which are almost considered historical books. He elaborated on the role of the prophets not merely to foretell rather to forth tell and to witness as called for by the present and prevailing situation. During that time, prophets before the period of exile were giving the people a warning. The people are being called to change and mend their evil ways but they refused to listen until they were eventually brought into the period of exile. Father Tony emphasized that the period of exile is a time marked with great despair and hardship and the prophets during this period of exile speaks of hope and proclaims that God has not abandoned. It was followed by the period of the prophets Ezra and Nehemiah, they are the ministers after the exile who proclaimed a time of purification and a strict form of nationalistic tendency. They said that there was a need to learn from the lessons of being in exile since they did not follow and obey God. It was mandated that there should be no intermarriages and no mixture with other people. They concluded that every time they mix with other people they become an adulterous nation. This thinking had greatly influenced Jonah since he came into this time right after the period of Ezra and Nehemiah. When he was called by God to prophesy to the people of Nineveh he did not obey because he believed that they are a people who do not belong to their race. He ran away and as most of us know, he was swallowed by a big fish and eventually followed God. The lesson of Jonah is about the universal love of God even for Gentiles. It shows the control of God over all of nature and peoples as evidenced when Jonah tried to ran away and went on board a ship and a big storm came and he was thrown out to the sea which calmed the storm (Jonah 1:8-16). It ridicules narrow nationalism in Judah just like the prophets Ezra and Nehemiah. Salvation is for all and it does not restrict anybody from taking part in it. It shows that God is not merely just but also merciful. Repentance as well as salvation is not a monopoly. God acts sometimes in strange and humorous ways. We can not figure God out in our desires. We can not put God in a box. The importance of the book of Jonah is mainly about God's great mercy and man's repentance. The bible verses in the books in the bible citing Jonah are in 2 Kings 14:25, Mt. 12:38-42, Mt. 16:4, Lk 11:29-32 for several times also in the passages it read that "there is something greater than Jonah here..." Jonah ushers the love of God in the New Testament as in last verse in the book of Jonah which foreshadows the 2 thieves in the left and right of Jesus crucified in Mt. Calvary and His immeasurable mercy when He said, "Forgive them for they know not what they do." We can respond to God's mercy in the manner that we choose. Another significant thing that was mentioned was in Jonah 3:5 which refers to the 40 days before destruction of Nineveh and can be consistently associated with how the # 40 is related to preparation. It is associated with life and death, in the practices and beliefs of the people nowadays. How they refer to life beginning at 40 and the 40 days prayer for the dead. For the Israelites, when they were in exile for 40 years. We also know that Jesus fasted for 40 days in the desert and also His ascension to heaven. Mercy is freely bestowed to anyone and was generously given to the Ninevites because God relented in His punishment and continues to relent and convey His mercy for He is a loving God. After the exile for 40 years, the Israelites got preoccupied with restoration of the temple. In the same way, our life needs restoration and constant connection with the Lord but we should go beyond the dictates of tradition and practices and focus more on the Spirit of God of mercy which is the ultimate lesson in Jonah and is the same message in today's gospel. There is always a commitment to any relationship and what God desires of us most of all, is our genuine love and concern above anything else. It goes beyond what is seen and spoken from the heart. We are the present day Jonah and as such we must believe that being merciful and offering a sacrifice goes hand in hand, it is very important that we renew ourselves constantly as we grow in virtue. It comes in stages, and we'll just have to work on it one day at a time. We have to be conscious of our motives and intentions. The bottom line is always think that whatever we do, imagine God watching and honestly feel in your heart if it can elicit a smile on His face. Amen. Hallelujah!

Matthew 12:1-8
... I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. 7 If you knew what this meant, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ ...