Word to the Wise
Monday, October 15, 2007 - St. Teresa of Avila
[Romans 1:1-7 and Luke 11:29-32]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.
Jonah reappears and this time it's in Jesus' preaching. He promises that "the present generation" would be given the sign of Jonah. Luke doesn't say which "sign of Jonah" would be given, but in Matthew, Jesus speaks of the belly of the whale. But the second set of lines refers to Jonah's success. In fact he was the only "successful" prophet in the Old Testament. No one ever seemed to listen to the others. The irony here is that Jonah was "successful" in his preaching but Jesus would have considerably mixed results which would eventually result in his death. Jesus' response here is one of exasperation because people are always asking for "signs" instead of listening to the preaching as the Ninehvites did. The demand for signs would be insatiable and the message would get lost in all the entertainment. I experience this occasionally if I tell an amusing story or even a joke in a homily. Some people will remember the joke but forget why I told it. Jonah's message was one of repentance. Jesus' message is the same. What do we need that will convince us to repent if the message doesn't? Really, is there ANYTHING? Repentance is more than saying, "Never again!" the morning after the night before, or after a close call (even if these things have been a catalyst for change for some folks). Jesus is someone greater than Jonah. If we listen, then we won't be hearing the Ninehvites saying, "We told you so!" AMEN
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