God’s Will: The Conversion of All

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reflecting on the Word

By Rev. James A. Wallace, C.Ss.R.

You might want to read the early part of Jonah’s story leading to his ending up  in the belly of a “great fish” for three days and nights—a biblical moment distinct  in its appeal to the sense of smell, besides bringing out the more playful side  of Israel’s God. Coming today in mid-story, we miss the struggle between Jonah’s  stubbornness (“I won’t go to Nineveh!”) and God’s (“Yes, you will!”). But today’s  emphasis falls on how powerful God’s word proves to be, even when uttered by  an unwilling prophet who wanted nothing more than to see Nineveh go up in  smoke—people, property, and even cows. 

Thomas Aquinas once said that when you love a person, their loves become  your own. A pleasant enough thought, except when you extend it to God, and realize that it is not given to us to determine what might fall outside of God’s loving,  enormous embrace and desire to save. While the world that is passing away is often  marked by the mess we humans have made of it, God is determined to change this  destructive course into a world renewed and wants us engaged in the work.

We get a hint of what this means when we hear the message Jesus proclaimed:  God’s reign is at hand, so turn away from sin and believe in the gospel—the good  news Jesus preached, the good news that is Jesus. We are invited to be part of the  solution rather than the problem, joining in the work begun by Jesus and preaching God’s offer of salvation to all. 

Consider/Discuss

  • Do you see yourself called to proclaim that God’s kingdom is “at hand”? 
  • What does this message mean? 
  • How do you live out this invitation? 

Responding to the Word

Loving God, when Jesus proclaimed that your kingdom was near, he was  announcing that you were at work in him for the salvation of the world. Help us to  trust this message and to hear his call in our lives, respond to it, and communicate this gospel to others. Amen.

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