Jonah, the Reluctant Prophet
Last week I asked one of the altar boys, Carlitos, if he
knew the story of Jonah and to my surprise, he said no.
Like Carlitos, those who learn of the story of Jonah
find it exciting and colorful. It's a story where Jonah
has to endure many hardships in order to fulfill the
mission God has planned for his people. First, Jonah is
called by God to be his prophet; that is, he has to speak
on behalf of God. Second, the same God who called
him to preach now wants Jonah to preach conversion to
the people of Nineveh. Today we could say that Jonah
was called to preach to the centers of power and
oppression. As you can imagine Jonah like Carlitos
also said no. Third, Jonah was sent to the Northern
Kingdom and instead of obeying God's command, the
reluctant prophet goes in the opposite direction. But as
God pulls the strings of history in a different way, God
allows the reluctant prophet to be swallowed by a
whale. It is in the belly of the whale where Jonah
remained for three days and three nights until God had
the big fish spew out Jonah onto the shores of Nineveh,
the land of the enemies of Israel. But Jonah's story does
not end there. On the contrary and against all human
and religious reasoning, the enemies of Israel are
converted at the preaching of Jonah. God forgives them
and the prophet instead of rejoicing for the salvation of
those who are not Israelites seems to contradict God's
designs. Perhaps this is the same feeling that some of
us have in our hearts. We do not want the salvation of
those who are not like us "who fulfill with the
commandments." However, God's mercy is infinite and
beyond all human and religious reasoning. God wants
us to open our lives to those who are not like us. God
wants each one of us to bring hope to the hopeless. So
in the story of Jonah we see our own history. God is
working through us if we are faithful to his mission of
salvation to all. From the very beginning the Gospel of
Mark teaches us that “this is the time of fulfillment”
and that “the Kingdom of God is at hand”. Deadlines
can inspire us to action. It is our belief that the
Kingdom of God began with Jesus of Nazareth. When
Jesus calls his first two disciples, he is also calling us
to respond and to follow him. Jesus calls us today to
witness the "good news" that He brings to our lives.
That is the same reason why Pope Francis wants us to
be a Church on the run, that is, a Church that lives and
proclaims the mercy of God for all people.
Fr. Hernán, S.J.