Wednesday of 1st Week of Lent – Jonah 3:1-10; Psalm 51; Luke 11:29-32
Jonah is the prophet, who when he heard the will of God, did all he could to avoid it. He went in the opposite direction to what the Lord wanted. He brought danger to his fellow travellers, he hit rock bottom, held in the stomach of a fish as in a coffin. His story is a clear image of the fall, but also the image of breaking free from from the chains of death. After three days in the stomach of the fish at the bottom of the ocean, Jonah rose from death, and the sight of him by the People of Nineveh caused them to turn to God. What was that sight? What did they see? They saw a man crushed by life, crucified, stripped. And at the same time, they saw victory over death. There’s no greater sign. There’s no greater mercy. We ask for little when we can receive everything. We see the details, but it’s only in the whole picture that there is hope.
Lord, so many people call from the depths of their lives, from the captivity of their suffering, from the oblivion of death. Grant to them the constant grace to see the sign of Jonah, the sign of Your resurrection, the sign of hope. You live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.