Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Daily Mass Homily: Wednesday, February 20, 2013


           We are supposed to laugh when we read the book of Jonah.  It is intended to be both a comedy and satire. 
            First, we see the only protagonist who goes directly against God’s will.  God asks Jonah to go to Nineveh and he flees in the other direction.  This is meant to be comical.  Next Jonah gets on a boat with pagans, and they can recognize the storm as a punishment from God for Jonah’s rebellion while he cannot.  Then God grounds Jonah—not by giving him a timeout or making him sit in his room—but by having him swallowed by a fish.  The Israelites would have found this quite humorous indeed.
            Our first reading comes from when Jonah finally did go to Nineveh.  In my mind, I picture this wallowing prophet slinking around Nineveh half-heartedly saying “Repent” expecting nothing to happen.  Indeed—Jonah goes outside the city to get a front row seat to a fireworks show of sulpher and ashes over Nineveh.  He continues to complain that he is tired to the point of death, and after God takes away Jonah’s source of shade he cries out, “It is better that I would die!”  Overdramatic anyone?  And hilarious!
            Many scholars think Jonah is a fictional work.  And we are allowed to think this, so long as we recognize fiction in the Scriptures always teaches truth.  Jesus himself refers to this text—“This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.”  If Jonah is fiction, I think this teaching from Jesus is even more powerful.  Jonah may not have been in a whale for three days and three nights.  Yet Jesus points to Jonah to illustrate that he will be in a tomb for the same time. 
            The citizens of Nineveh reportedly converted with an explosion.  Something greater than Jonah is here…”  While the story of Jonah may be fiction, the story of Christ is the truest event of all time.  How much more should we convert more fully to Christ this Lent.

No comments:

Post a Comment