Dear
Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Peace and Love of Christ be with you!!!
A God of Another Chance
There is a saying that “God
is not only the God of a second chance but of another chance.” The story of
Jonah is one of the most powerful reminders of God's mercy and His relentless
call to repentance. In this season of Lent, when the Church invites us to turn
back to the Lord with all our hearts, Jonah 3:1-10 offers us a profound message
of divine patience, human response, and the transformative power of repentance.
The
Call Renewed: God's Persistence with Jonah
The passage begins with
a striking phrase: "The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second
time" (Jonah 3:1). Jonah, who had previously fled from God's mission,
is given another opportunity to fulfill his prophetic call. This is the nature
of our God, He does not abandon His plans for us just because we have failed in
the past. He calls us again, urging us to rise from our weaknesses and return
to the path He has set for us.
During Lent, we must ask
ourselves: How often have we, like Jonah, run away from God's will? How
many times have we resisted His call to holiness, to reconciliation, to
mission? Yet, God's mercy remains, always inviting us back, never giving up on
us.
The
Urgent Message: Repentance Cannot Wait
Jonah finally obeys,
enters the great city of Nineveh, and proclaims, "Forty days more and
Nineveh shall be overthrown!" (Jonah 3:4). His message is clear,
urgent, and direct. There is no time for delay, repentance must happen now.
Lent is our "forty
days," a time given by God for self-examination and conversion. It is not
a season of passive reflection but of active transformation. The Ninevites
responded immediately to Jonah’s warning. They did not wait for the 40 days to
pass; they recognized their sinfulness and acted at once. The question for us
is: Are we responding with the same urgency? Are we turning away from
our spiritual complacency and sincerely seeking God's mercy?
The
Power of True Repentance: A Change of Heart and Action
The people of Nineveh
did not merely feel guilty or regretful. They expressed their repentance
through concrete actions: fasting, wearing sackcloth, and crying out to God.
Even the king humbled himself, descended from his throne, and led his people in
seeking God's mercy. "Let everyone turn from his evil way and from the
violence that is in his hands" (Jonah 3:8).
Lenten repentance is not
just about words; it is about transformation. It is not enough to confess our
sins, we must also renounce them and take decisive steps to change. Like the
Ninevites, we must humble ourselves before God, abandon the sins that separate
us from Him, and actively seek reconciliation with Him and with one another.
Moreover,
we must recognize the social dimension of sin and take it seriously. Much of
the suffering and hardship in the world today stems from the increasing
prevalence of sin. The prayers and holiness of a few are not enough to
counterbalance the overwhelming sense of hopelessness that pervades our world.
True renewal requires a collective turning back to God.
God’s
Response: Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment
Jonah 3:10 tells us that "When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, He
repented of the evil that He had said He would do to them, and He did not do
it." The Hebrew word used for "repented"
in this passage is niḥam, which does not imply that
God made a mistake or changed His nature. Rather, it expresses God’s willingness
to relent (To change His mind, To be moved with
compassion) in response to
genuine human repentance. God remains just and merciful; when sinners sincerely
turn back to Him, He responds with compassion. This is not a contradiction but
a demonstration of His consistent character, He is not arbitrary in His actions
but desires the salvation of all.
God's mercy is greater
than His judgment. He does not desire the destruction of sinners but their
conversion and salvation.
This is the heart of the
Lenten message: God is waiting for our return. No matter how far we have
strayed, He is ready to forgive. He is more eager to welcome us back than we
are to return. His mercy is greater than our sins.
A Call
to Personal and Communal Renewal: The story of Jonah and
Nineveh speaks directly to us this Lent. It reminds us that God never gives up
on us. If we have failed before, He still calls us to repentance and mission. Repentance
must be urgent. We cannot delay our conversion. True repentance involves both a
change of heart and action. It is not enough to feel sorry; we must turn away
from sin. God’s mercy is boundless. He longs to forgive and restore us.
As we continue our
Lenten journey, let us not waste this sacred time. Let us respond to God's call
with sincerity and urgency, knowing that He is always ready to embrace us with
His infinite mercy. Today is the day of salvation; now is the time to turn back
to God.
May our fasting, prayer,
and almsgiving lead us to a deeper conversion, so that we, like the people of
Nineveh, may experience the joy of God’s mercy and renewal. Amen.
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