GREATER THAN JONAH

Jonah 3:1-10. Lk 11:29-32, 1 March 2023, First Week of Lent

Both the readings of the day are centered on the name ‘Jonah’ which in Hebrew means ‘dove.’ Many Rabbis consider Jonah rather as a part of Midrashic literature than of prophetic literature. For, according to them, the Book of Jonah is presents a metaphor of the people of Israel. The Book of Jonah revolves around three persons: the people of Nineveh, God, and Jonah. At the beginning of the book, the people of Nineveh are sinful, God is angry, and Jonah is reluctant. At the end of the book, all the three undergo conversion: Nineveh repents, God relents, and Jonah retorts.

Nineveh was the capital of Assyria. Assyrians had captured the people of Israel in the Northern Kingdom in 723-722 BCE. Later the people of Israel developed a strong antipathy towards this enemy nation, and they wanted it to be destroyed. Jonah in fact presents a racist and angry face of such people. But God’s ways are different. Instead of punishing the Assyrians God becomes merciful to them. The people of Israel learn three things from this scenario: (i) It is not anger that heals but mercy; in fact, they begin to be merciful to foreign and enemy nations; (ii) God’s ways are his ways and we can’t question them; and (iii) In the world the evil is not always repaid.

In the gospel reading to his contemporaries, who were seeking a sign, Jesus offers them the signs of Solomon and Jonah. Solomon was considered the wisest person of the Judaic history. Jonah was considered a powerful preacher. As Jesus is the wisdom of God, he becomes greater than Solomon. And as he went about not only preaching, but also healing, he becomes greater than Jonah.

But unlike the queen of Sheba and the people of Nineveh, the contemporaries of Jesus refuse to believe in him. Jesus is greater than Jonah. The implication is that he demands greater conversion.

Thanks : Fr. Yesu K