Word to the Wise
Wednesday, March 12, 2025 - 1st Week of Lent - Wed
[Jonah 3:1-10 and Luke 11:29-32]
Jonah was a reluctant but effective preacher. He tried to run away from God's call by catching a boat, which displeased God who sent a storm. The sailors figured out the problem and chucked him overboard where the famous "whale" swallowed him up and spit him up after three days. In the Gospel According to Matthew [13:40] Jesus cites Jonah as a symbol of his own eventual resurrection. Today, in the Gospel According to Luke, he cites Jonah as a great preacher who managed to convert the great city of Nineveh. But Jesus also cites the men of Nineveh for listening to Jonah and compares them to the reluctant Jews to whom Jesus was preaching, who refused to believe even though Jesus was a far greater person than Jonah!
In every generation, there are prophetic figures - some are genuine and some are false. The latter kind will even quote scripture in support of their preaching. Jesus created a way of evaluating such figures by making the preaching of the apostles and the leadership of the bishops an authoritative guide, all under the central leadership of the pope. But they, too, are subject to the Word of God that they preach. In today's scriptures, the question is whether or not we are listening and repenting. The people of Nineveh are watching. AMEN