“For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:40).
I have been reflecting on the Old Testament story of Jonah, who spent three days and nights inside the belly of a whale because he refused to do the will of God and go to Nineveh to preach for repentance…
“The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before Me.’ But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish… Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god… Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm… But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish three days and three nights.” (Jonah 1:1-17).
And I have been reflecting on Jonah’s lack of trust for God, because Christ told the Pharisees “…no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.” (Matthew 12:40).
And I have been reflecting on Jonah because God went to great lengths to call him back… In fact, God went to extraordinary lengths with Jonah. And upon reflection it seems to me that it is because Jonah was IT. There was no other plan to save Nineveh – the ONLY plan was for Jonah to go there himself and preach repentance.
And reflecting on this, it is important for me to understand my place and why God chooses me for the job at hand. You see, when Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was to elected as Pope, he prayed, “Don't do this to me! You've got younger and better men, with altogether more vigour and more strength who could step up to this task.” But a cardinal wrote to him saying, “If the Lord should now tell you, ‘Follow me,’ then remember what you preached. Do not refuse. Be obedient” Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI said, “This touched my heart. The ways of the Lord are not comfortable, but we were not created for comfort, but for greatness, for good. So in the end, all I could do was say ‘Yes’. I am trusting in God.”
And considering this lack of comfort in following the Will of God, I consider what I was created for – comfort is reserved for eternity – I was created for GREATNESS and for GOOD… And when I think of the wonder of such a thing, I can only stand and marvel, because such greatness is surely worth a little discomfort in the short-term…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.