Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today's Mass Readings

During my travels, somehow I attract the most interesting people as seat mates. Leaving Dayton for Atlanta on my way to India, I had a half-drunk next to me. He was on his way to Las Vegas to celebrate his twenty-first birthday. During my conversation with him I also discovered that he was Catholic. But even before the plane took off the runway, he began to tell me how there better not be any terrorists on the plane because if there were he would “kick their ---.” But then he said also he was not talking about me. He was loud and so everyone around him heard him. Outward I maintained composure but inside I have to admit I was a little nervous. But I humoured him and kept the conversation light for next two hours. My thought although was, this guy is drunk and so speaks his mind. How many other people when I enter a flight think similar? It really was a very sad flight.

And then I reached India. My parents were at the airport and we had a three hour drive from the airport to reach home. We stopped along the way to have breakfast. I am paranoid about my travel documents and instead of leaving them in the car I decided to take it into the restaurant. I placed them very carefully on the window sill. This was my first real Indian breakfast in a long time and must have enjoyed it much because I left the restaurant leaving my passport, my travel documents, fourteen hundred dollars, my social security card and all my green card documents behind. Twenty minutes into the drive blood shot through my brains. I asked the driver to turn around. I wish I had recorded the conversation for those twenty minutes. The driver had noticed that the restaurant was run by Muslims and according to him anything could happen. My mom, trying to console me said, “Muslims are more trustworthy than our people.” There were many other comments but I was out of the car before it stopped and ran into the restaurant. Even before I could enter the front door there was the waiter with all my stuff running toward me as if he were presenting me a trophy. Nothing had been touched. And yes, he was a Muslim. In continuation with last week’s readings, we have even more call stories in this week’s readings. The difference is that this week the purpose of the call is more defined. Jonah is called to go to Nineveh and preach repentance. In the gospel reading, Jesus himself came proclaiming, “This is the time of fulfilment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel” (Mk 1:15). Later when Jesus sent his disciples out to preach, he would send them with the same message that he himself proclaimed (Lk 10:9).

First, however, a few words about Jonah. Jonah is called by God to go to Nineveh and preach repentance. The funny thing is that Jonah boards the first available ship, only to head out in the opposite direction to Tarshish. His reason was simple. The Ninevites were Israel’s mortal enemies. Jonah was perhaps not only scared of the Ninevites but he was also equally cautious of God’s call to repentance for them. Johan did not want the Ninevites to repent, but that in their sin they are destroyed by God. One storm and three days in a whale’s belly later Jonah actually sets out to Nineveh. There he proclaims this message: “Forty days more and Nineveh will be destroyed.” Surprisingly, the people of Nineveh repent and god changes His mind about destroying Nineveh. Jonah is mad because the people repented and God had spared Nineveh.

I want to suggest three practical implications for today’s readings today. My three practical implications revolve around God’s desire to save all people, even our enemies. The interesting thing is that like Jonah and the disciples, God calls us for this task.

1) We must recognize that as Christians we are all called even if our message is different. Thus, this week thousands of people gathered in Washington for the March for life walk. There are others who devote their energy to alleviating hunger, disease, war, violence and social injustice. There are others who travel for missionary work. There are yet others who spend quiet time in contemplation. Behind each of these people is the same call by the same God. So why do we rival each other because others are conservative or liberal, or democratic or republican, Catholic or Protestant? Sometimes we are like Jonah and see only difference. God, on the other hand sees an opportunity for salvation even from the enemies of God. After all, it is not God does not make terrorists, human beings do. God can achieve noble things from Hindu’s, Muslims, Christians, Jesus, Buddhists and whomever God wants. Sometimes, though, we have to fight the Jonah in us to get God’s vision.

2) The gospel reading gives us a clear message that Jesus wants us to proclaim. Jesus begins his ministry with the words “The kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel.” He called his disciples and unlike Jonah, they abandoned everything and followed him. Jesus Kingdom is a Kingdom of acceptance, love, healing, self-giving, compassion, forgiveness, mercy, justice, and peace. God calls each of us like he called Jonah and the disciples, both to witness to and preach repentance and faith; repentance from rejection and faith in acceptance of one another; repentance from hatred and faith in love of those who are different; repentance from revenge and faith in compassion, forgiveness and love; repentance from violence and war toward faith in reconciliation and peace; repentance from a culture of death and faith in the culture of life. This is the common call of the Kingdom of God.

3) Jonah was not the first person to hear God’s hear instruction, do the opposite thing and then hide. That started with the first man and woman. And Jonah was not the last person to do it either. How often we hear an inside voice telling me to do something right. But like Jonah we run in the opposite direction. God asks us to forgive somebody, to be honest in a particular situation, to be faithful in our relationships, to be just and compassionate; and sometimes it is simply easy to hide from God and do our own thing. The story of Jonah brings us face to face with our own human weaknesses. It is in this area of weakness that we need God most. Today, let us confront both our weakness and our God.

The same Jesus who preached the message of the Kingdom and the same Jesus who called the disciples will call us again today. Can we dare to leave everything and hear that call? Can we leave our boats and nets and follow? It would be better than being swallowed by a whale. Amen.

- Fr. Satish Joseph