Our Peace Lies In Listening To God And Following His Commands

Jonah 3:1-10
Luke 10:38-42

In today’s first reading, after Jonah was given a second chance, God called him and this time around, he obeys the commands of God to go to Nineveh and preach repentance to them saying , ‘Only forty days more, and Nineveh will be destroyed Jonah 3:4. When he thundered at the notoriously sinful population of Nineveh, they were awoken from their evil behavior and repented, putting on sackcloth and ashes. So far from God had the Ninevites strayed that they faced terrible disaster, but at the last moment they realized that they must leave their sins behind. They heard and heeded the warning. They repented of their sins from greatest to the least person and God spare them of the punishment that they were suppose to receive. In summary , the book of Jonah is a proof of God’’s inexhaustible mercy not only for Jonah or the Israelites but also for the impious heathen city of Nineveh. It shows that God, is the ruler of all nations and He has given these people repentance for life. For Israel or the Jews, respectively, this was very difficult to understand for they considered only themselves as God’s elect people (Matthew 12:41; Matthew 16:4; Luke 11:29-32; Acts 10; Acts 11).

In today’s gospel passage, we see our merciful Lord visiting his friends in their home and they saw him great hospitality. In this scenario, we see the preoccupation, restlessness and anxiety of Martha as against Mary her sister who listened to Jesus at his feet and gave him undivided attention. The lesson for Martha, Mary and all of us is that we should welcome Jesus into our home but essentially into our hearts. We must balance our spirituality starting from intensive interior life of prayer to the work of apostolate. ‘That is, Be contemplative indoor and apostles outdoor’.

As Jonah received a second chance, this is your chance to step on stage for REPENTANCE IS NOW . Let us learn to depend on God’s word and not on ourselves or the sign that we see or we are expecting.

Fr Joseph Osho