The Word Among Us: A Catholic Devotional based on the Daily Mass Reading & Meditation for Tuesday, October 6, 2015

The Word Among Us: A Catholic Devotional based on the Daily Mass Reading & Meditation for Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Meditation: Jonah 3:1 The word of Adonai came to Yonah a second time: 2 “Set out for the great city of Ninveh, and proclaim to it the message I will give you.” 3 So Yonah set out and went to Ninveh, as Adonai had said. Now Ninveh was such a large city that it took three days just to cross it. 4 Yonah began his entry into the city and had finished only his first day of proclaiming, ‘In forty days Ninveh will be overthrown,’ 5 when the people of Ninveh believed God. They proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least. 6 When the news reached the king of Ninveh, he got up from his throne, took off his robe, put on sackcloth and sat in ashes. 7 He then had this proclamation made throughout Ninveh: “By decree of the king and his nobles, no person or animal, herd or flock, is to put anything in his mouth; they are neither to eat nor drink water. 8 They must be covered with sackcloth, both people and animals; and they are to cry out to God with all their might — let each of them turn from his evil way and from the violence they practice. 9 Who knows? Maybe God will change his mind, relent and turn from his fierce anger; and then we won’t perish.”

10 When God saw by their deeds that they had turned from their evil way, he relented and did not bring on them the punishment he had threatened.

Saint Bruno, Priest (Optional Memorial)
God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath. (Jonah 3:9)
Wow! It took Jonah only one day to bring the entire city of Nineveh to its knees in repentance. And he had only one message: “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed” (Jonah 3:4). Just that one vague threat of total destruction—from a reluctant prophet, no less—turned the entire city around. Imagine the scene as everyone in the land put on sackcloth and sat in ashes as they cried out words of repentance. And it wasn’t just the people. They also clad their livestock in rags and made the cattle cry out (perhaps by braying?) to God for forgiveness.
If we look at this story with a realist’s eyes, we can see that the Book of Jonah most likely falls into the category of a fable more than an accurate historical account. With its fantastical fishes, its hapless and moody hero, and its comedic touch (a ravenous worm that devours a shade tree overnight—Jonah 4:6-8), the book relies on exaggeration to make its point.
So what is that point? As the next chapter spells out, it’s that God is far more compassionate and caring than we can imagine. Again and again in this book, we see him pardoning, teaching, cajoling, even playing practical jokes on people in the hopes that they will turn away from sin and embrace his commands.
Despite the Ninevites’ over-the-top fear of the “blazing wrath” of God, even despite Jonah’s threat of the city’s total collapse, God shows himself to be “gracious and merciful … slow to anger, abounding in kindness, repenting of punishment” (Jonah 3:9; 4:2). He is playful, not peevish; merciful, not maniacal; kind, not cranky. He is a good God who wants to see everyone—even pagans—healed, whole, and happy.
In two months, Pope Francis will open a Holy Year of Mercy. For an entire year, he will call us to rediscover how merciful, kind, loving, and gracious our heavenly Father is. As we approach this special year of grace, keep the story of Jonah in mind. Remember that God is always ready to forgive. He is always ready to welcome you into his warm embrace. He loves you!
“Father, I am overwhelmed by your mercy. Help me to receive your love today so that my life can be a witness to your goodness and kindness.” Amen!
Psalm 130:(0) A song of ascents. By David:

(1) Adonai, I call to you from the depths;

2 hear my cry, Adonai!

Let your ears pay attention

to the sound of my pleading.

3 Yah, if you kept a record of sins,

who, Adonai, could stand?

4 But with you there is forgiveness,

so that you will be feared.

7 Isra’el, put your hope in Adonai!

For grace is found with Adonai,

and with him is unlimited redemption.

8 He will redeem Isra’el

from all their wrongdoings.

Luke 10:38 On their way Yeshua and his talmidim came to a village where a woman named Marta welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister called Miryam who also sat at the Lord’s feet and heard what he had to say. 40 But Marta was busy with all the work to be done; so, going up to him, she said, “Sir, don’t you care that my sister has been leaving me to do all the work by myself?” 41 However, the Lord answered her, “Marta, Marta, you are fretting and worrying about so many things! 42 But there is only one thing that is essential. Miryam has chosen the right thing, and it won’t be taken away from her.”
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