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| Jonah Preaches to the Ninevites, Doré’s English Bible, 1866, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons |
“The Sign of Jonah” by Colleen O’Sullivan
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,” 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 repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it out. (Jonah 3:4-5, 10)
“Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the son of Man be to this generation… 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.” (Luke 11:30, 32)
Piety
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me. (Psalm 51:3-4)
Study
In some places, the story of Jonah is comically absurd. Here’s Jonah, totally upset because God wants him to preach repentance to the Ninevites, a people about as evil as this prophet can imagine. They’re not “his people.” They’re what he would refer to as “others.” They’re not believers. They’ve long been Jonah’s people’s enemies. What does Jonah do? He who considers himself one of the faithful disobeys God and runs as far as he can in the other direction! God prevails, however, and eventually, Jonah does preach repentance in the streets of Nineveh.
Jonah can’t believe it, but the people take the message to heart. They put on sackcloth and begin a fast, which, once the king gets involved, extends even to their livestock! They actually are ready and willing to turn from their sin. God sees their sincerity and forgives them. Rather than rejoicing at this display of mercy on the part of God, Jonah stomps off in anger. What was God thinking in forgiving people like the Ninevites?
Jesus, on the other hand, surrounded by his own people, believers in the God of Israel, meets with a totally different reaction. No repentance here, no sackcloth garments or fasting. Instead, he gets demands for more signs, which Jesus refuses. Standing in the midst of the crowd is the very source of mercy, compassion, and forgiveness, but the people don’t want to see it. They have no desire to change. They are right, and this upstart, itinerant preacher from Nazareth who says otherwise needs to go.
Action
Things to consider in prayer: If we are reflecting on the state of our hearts during Lent, perhaps we need to ask ourselves if there are individuals or groups of people whom we, like Jonah, regard as beyond the scope of God’s forgiveness and mercy. When Jesus offers us forgiveness, do we acknowledge our need of it, or are we like the crowd in the Gospel reading, unable to see our need for repentance?
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