Lent Week 1: Wednesday
LESSON FROM JONAH
The Jonah story today speaks of his successful campaign to proclaim conversion to the Ninevites. It is his “mission accomplished” moment. What was glossed over however, was the behind-the-scenes beginning of Jonah’s response to the Lord’s call. You see, Jonah was not the generous, valiant prophet from the start. In fact, he was the reluctant preacher who resented God’s generosity and kindness to the Ninevites whom he originally despised.
Jonah did not want to obey the Lord because his thinking was at odds with the Lord’s plan of salvation. The Ninevites deserved to be destroyed, was Jonah’s stand, until the Lord God, through dramatic circumstances, redirected Jonah towards the path of a mercy and compassion for God’s wayward people. In the end, Jonah became God’s instrument for the salvation of his brothers and sisters in Nineveh.
The Gospel shows us that the Lord Jesus, in contrast to Jonah, the reluctant prophet, was the obedient and willing servant of the Father. Son though he was, he did not shrink from the responsibility his Father has placed on his shoulders. Jesus’ heartbeat aligned with the Father. He loved what the Father loved; he cared for those the Father cared; he sought whom the Father desired to find. Truly, Jesus was a Jonah figure because his role was just as prophetic in his own time, but without the hesitation, the selfishness, and the jealousy of Jonah.
Jesus obeyed his Father without counting the cost. He fulfilled the Father’s will even if it brought him to the pinnacle of the Cross.
Today, we ask the Holy Spirit to transform our stubborn, hardened hearts and to make them like the heart of Jesus. In our prayer and sacrifice this Lenten season, may we be a sign of God’s immense love for the people we meet, the people we are called to serve in our daily dealings with them.
