Reading 1
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.
Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19
Responsorial PsalmR. (19b)
A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
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: Jonah 3:1-10
“God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way.” (Jonah 3:10)
If you want proof that actions speak louder than words, you don’t have to look any farther than this passage from Jonah. God had sent Jonah to preach God’s judgment against the people of Nineveh. Upon hearing Jonah’s words, however, the king and all his subjects declared a fast of repentance. And seeing their response, God forgave the people and spared their city. The Ninevites didn’t simply say they were sorry; they took action to show their intention to change.
This passage gives us some insights into the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It shows us the value of “doing penance.” It shows that the sacrament is not really complete until we have done penance&mash;until we have shown the Lord that we do intend to change. It isn’t that God doubts our contrition. Rather, it’s that true contrition shows itself as we try to make amends and as we seek to avoid situations that lead us to sin.
Does this mean that we have to work hard to get ourselves forgiven? Well, yes and no. A better way to say it is that we need to respond when the Holy Spirit calls us to change. At its heart, conviction of sin and the desire for God’s forgiveness is the Spirit’s work. But that conviction is more like an invitation than a wave of a magic wand. We still need to own up to our sin, confess it to the Lord, and show him that we want to change.
So yes, it’s up to us to confess our sins and do penance. It’s up to us to change our actions so that they correspond to our words. But it’s also up to God to change our hearts and to pour out grace to help us make these changes. The good news is that he loves to do it! He wants to bring about a complete renovation in all of us. He wants to give us all a share in his power and his grace to begin a new life. All he asks is that we repent in word and in deed.
“Holy Spirit, pierce my heart so that my repentance bears fruit in action! I don’t want to say the right words; I want to be transformed as well.”
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