Word to the Wise
Wednesday, February 17, 2016 - 1st Week of Lent - Wed
[Jonah 3:1-10 and Luke 11:29-32]WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2016 WEDNESDAY IN THE FIRST WEEK OF LENT [Jonah 3:1-10 and Luke 11:29-32] "This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation...(T)here is something greater than Jonah here. [Luke] There is considerable irony (very likely unintended) in Jesus' reference to Jonah. Yes, Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites who did repent. Jesus became a sign to the "generation" then living and to all generations afterward, but his success as a sign would be explained in another gospel as related to the three days in the belly of the whale. The whole world has not repented and the preaching still has to be done. The irony is that Jonah sulked because the repentance of the Ninevites seemed to represent failure to him. God did not punish them! He found himself out of a job! Anyone who preaches repentance knows that the task is unending because we fall and get up many times in our lives. I doubt the Ninevites all wore haloes the rest of their lives. The one advantage we have over the "generation" to whom Jesus first preached is that we do not have to make a decision about HIM. We just have to decide whether or not to repent. That is hard enough! AMEN
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