Homily: First Wednesday of Lent
First Wednesday of Lent (Jonah 3:1-10) “Calming the Storm in Our Life”
The selection we read from the Book of Jonah leaves out a significant amount of the story. We get a sense that Jonah was asked to go to Nineveh to preach repentance and he dropped everything and went. But that was not the case.
Jonah resisted going. In fact, he ran away. He got on a ship and sailed in the opposite direction. God would not let him turn down his prophetic mission, however. A mighty storm blew up and the ship was about to sink. The sailors were deathly afraid. They knew someone was bad luck. They decided to cast lots to see which passenger was the problem. When they did this Jonah drew the short straw and was eventually thrown into the sea.
When Jonah was thrown into the sea he was swallowed by a great fish. He spent three days in the belly of the fish. After that he was spat out on the land. Then we pick up the story that we read today.
Why is knowing all the story important? Because we see that God will not take no for an answer. He had a mission for Jonah, and he wanted him to complete it.
We may say no to God at times. But if God has a task that he wants us to complete probably another opportunity or maybe several opportunities to do what we are being asked to do.
We might see this play out in other peoples lives as well. How often does a parent worry about their child rejecting God and going their own way? At such times it must be remembered that God is probably going to give that child multiple opportunities in their life to fulfill their Christian calling.
Being confident enough to let God act takes a great deal of trust. Jonah learned that he did not need to convert Nineveh through his own devices, but he just needed to cooperate with the Lord. Most of the time we need to let go and trust as well.
Reflection Questions:
- Have I ever rejected God’s plans for me? When did that happen?
- Do I worry about somebody I love turning from God? Who is it and what does Jonah’s story teach me?
Dear Parishioners,
Celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation is a very important part of the Lenten journey. We can’t change anything in our life unless we name what we might need to alter. A thorough examination of conscience is always helpful. Some people do this daily, others only do it when they go to confession.
Keep in mind that we have added additional time for Reconciliation on Saturdays. A priest is hearing confessions from 2:45 to 3:45 p.m. There is also a time from 5 to 5:30 on Wednesday evenings. I hope everyone will be able to receive the mercy of God through Reconciliation the next few weeks.
May Our Lady bring peace to our world soon.
Fr. Mark