Reading I
Jon 3:1-10
The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time:
“Set out for the great city of Nineveh,
and announce to it the message that I will tell you.”
So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh,
according to the LORD’s bidding.
Now Nineveh was an enormously large city;
it took three days to go through it.
Jonah began his journey through the city,
and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing,
“Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,”
when the people of Nineveh believed God;
they proclaimed a fast
and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.
When the news reached the king of Nineveh,
he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe,
covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes.
Then he had this proclaimed throughout Nineveh,
by decree of the king and his nobles:
“Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep,
shall taste anything;
they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water.
Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth and call loudly to God;
every man shall turn from his evil way
and from the violence he has in hand.
Who knows, God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath,
so that we shall not perish.”
When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way,
he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them;
he did not carry it out.
Gospel
Lk 11:29-32
While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them,
“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.
At the judgment
the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation
and she will condemn them,
because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon,
and there is something greater than Solomon here.
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.”
Meditation: Luke 11:29-32
The English word “Lent” comes from the Germanic word for “springtime.”
It’s such a resonant word, bringing to mind renewal and new life. But springtime also brings to mind the often dreaded task of spring cleaning. No wonder Lent and springtime are connected! Like spring, Lent is a time of renewal and new life—as well as a time to do some spring cleaning. It’s a perfect opportunity to take spiritual inventory and clean out those things that clutter our lives and get in the way of our relationship with Jesus.
The greatest tool we have for this spring cleaning is the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It’s in Confession that we can come to the Lord openly and honestly, uncovering our sins and receiving his mercy. It’s also in Confession that we can accept Jesus’ healing power, just as springtime transforms the drab of winter into a rainbow of color. We cast off the remnants of our old acts of disobedience so that Jesus can give us a new heart—a soft heart that delights in his laws and his ways.
It’s fitting that the season of Lent begins with a symbol of repentance: the placing of ashes on our foreheads. But there is so much more to Lent than wearing the ashen sign for one day. There is so much more, even, than our acts of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. There is God’s work in us, his power to transform us as we come to him. Lent is not just about giving things up or confessing our sins. It’s about being changed to an even greater degree into the likeness of Jesus himself!?The people surrounding Jesus asked for a sign that he was the Messiah. Jesus said the only sign they would receive was the “sign of Jonah,” which was the repentance and conversion that happened when Jonah preached to the Ninevites. Our repentance and conversion can be a sign to the world as well. If we take full advantage of the Sacrament of Reconciliation this Lent, we will be changed. We will show the people around us that God really does have the power to heal and transform.
“Father, I praise you for your mercy and love. Look upon me, a sinner, as I ask your forgiveness. Make me into a sign of your Son, Jesus, to all those I meet in my journey to you.”
No comments:
Post a Comment