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.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19
R. (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
The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time.” (Jonah 3:1)
Jonah wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice. After all, spending a few nights in a fish’s gut can be very persuasive. With a little imagination, you can picture him trudging off in the direction of Nineveh— still dripping with seawater, but now determined to follow the leading of God.
For Jonah, it took radical measures to convince him to respond to God’s call. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that for us! Instead, let’s get into the habit of trying to sense what God wants to say to us. It’s really not so hard. God has given all of us the gift of spiritual intuition. He wants to guide our lives. All we have to do is learn how to hear him.
Try to start small. For instance, if you get a sense that you should put aside a grumpy mood, maybe it is a word from the Lord. So ask for his grace to cheer up. If you get an inkling that you should join a ministry in your parish, test it out. Maybe it’s God leading you. You’ve got to start somewhere! As you practice, you’ll get better at discerning God’s voice.
Give God a chance; believe that he wants to speak to you, and start to listen expectantly. The “word” that first came to Jonah was probably more like a sense in his heart than the sound of a human voice. It probably wasn’t all that dramatic. But look at the fruit it ultimately bore! Well, you can expect to feel similar nudges throughout the day!
God’s word doesn’t come just through these inner senses, either. It can come through other people, as it did when Nathan spoke the word of God to David in 2 Samuel 12. It can come through Scripture, as it did for St. Augustine. It can even come through an enemy. The point is: God really wants to talk to us!
In your prayer every day, pay attention to the thoughts that come into your mind—especially the ones that fill you with love for the Lord or a desire to serve his people. Keep a journal of these thoughts, and see if you can detect a pattern to them over time. It just may be God talking to you!
“Speak, Lord, for I’m listening.”
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