III Sunday in OT:[2015]: Jon 3:1-5, 10; 1Cori 7:29-31; Mk 1:14-20

III Sunday in OT:  Jon 3:1-5, 10; 1Cori 7:29-31; Mk 1:14-20

Look at the first reading for this weekend. It is from the Book of Jonah. Now when we hear about Jonah we think about the fellow who spent three days in the belly of a whale, foreshadowing Christ's three days in the tomb. That is only part of the story. The whole reason why Jonah got gobbled up was because he refused to listen to God and preach to the people of the largest city of the area, Nineveh. God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and tell the people that they were condemned due to their sins. Nineveh was to the Northeast of Jonah. Jonah fled to the Southwest, and got onto a ship he hoped would take him to a far away land.

Jonah’s reason for running was that, quite simply, he did not like the Assyrians. Assyria was an idolatrous, proud, and ruthless nation bent on world conquest and had long been a threat to Israel. When God sent Jonah as a missionary to the capital, Nineveh, the prophet balked. At the end of his story, Jonah specifies his reason for resistance: “That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity” (Jonah 4:2). In other words, Jonah wanted Nineveh to be destroyed. He felt they deserved God’s judgment. Jonah didn’t want to see God’s mercy extended to his enemies, and he knew in his heart that God’s intention was to show mercy. Jonah discovered that God’s salvation is available to all who repent, not just to the people of Jonah’s choosing.  The Ninevites heard Jonah, recognized their own sins, and repented hoping that it would not be too late for them. It wasn't. God saw their determination and decided against punishing them

The penitent asked, "Does God accept repentance?" The priest asked in turn, "Do you throw away dirty laundry?" "No," replied the sinner. The priest said, "Neither will God throw you away."  Anthony de Mello writes, "Jesus proclaimed the good news, yet he was rejected. Not because it was good, but because it was new. We don't want new things when they involve change and most particularly if they cause us to say, 'I was wrong.'"

Jonah also discovered that no one can run from God. “‘Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him?’ declares the LORD. ‘Do I not fill heaven and earth?’ declares the LORD” (Jeremiah 23:24). Jonah’s ill-advised attempt to escape from God was doomed to fail. He soon realized God was with him everywhere he went. Even in the stomach of the great fish, God knew where Jonah was and could hear his prayer (Jonah 2:2).  We are not to run from God but to Him. As Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.”

It was still impressive that twelve men would follow Jesus this early in his career as itinerate preacher and healer. Surely they got to know the person of Jesus and came to love him in order to follow him.  We too need to have a personal relationship with Jesus. We can really love a person unless we know that person, have a relationship with that person, and completely trust that person. We can know a lot of things about Jesus by our reading of the Bible and other literature, but knowledge alone is not enough. We have to somehow meet Jesus face-to-face. Talk with him. Be with him.  It is called divine experience. It is called discipleship.

Joke: Pastor Andrews’ wife called and asked him to pick up some organic kale for that night’s dinner on his way home. He arrived at the store and began to search all over for organic kale before finally asking the produce clerk where he might find some. The young clerk seemed confused by the pastor’s request, so the Pastor said: “Look, this kale is for my wife. All I need to know is whether it’s been sprayed with poisonous chemicals.” The visibly horrified clerk replied, “No, Reverend, you will have to do that yourself.”

Practical Applications: 1) We need to appreciate our call to become Christ’s disciples: Every one of us is called by God, both individually, and collectively as a parish community, to continue Jesus’ mission of preaching the Good News of God’s Kingdom and healing the sick. 2) We are called individually to a particular vocation in life like that of a priest, a missionary, a religious Sister, a religious Brother, a married man, a married woman, a single man or a single woman.  Our own unique vocation should enable us to become what God wants us to be.  As St. Francis Sales puts it, we are expected to bloom where we are planted. Let us remember that it is our vocation in life as Christians to borrow Christ’s Light and to radiate it all around us in our society.

Third Sunday in Ordinary time:  Introduction

Message: The Ninevites heard the preaching of Jonah and repented of their evil ways, thus experiencing the Lord’s compassion.  Do we repent when we hear the preaching of Jesus? Do we invest our lives in the world rather than in God’s kingdom?

Saints and Events in this Week:  23 – Twenty Third – Monday – Saint Timothy and Titus, bishops; 27 – Twenty Seventh – Tuesday – Saint Angela Merici, virgin; 28 – Twenty Eighth – Wednesday – Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest, Doctor of the Church; 31 – Thirty First – Saturday – Saint John Bosco; Priest;