The Example of the Ninevites
Readings Jonah 3:1-10; Ps 50(51); Lk
11:29-32
The people
of Nineveh where able to read the sign of the time when Jonah preached. They
declared a national mourning and fasting for their sins. The Ninevites put up a
genuine conversion and God saw the content of their hearts and spared the land.
This reminds us of God’s promise to Solomon that “…if the people who bear my
name humble themselves, and pray and seek my presence and turn from their
wicked ways, then I will listen from heaven and forgive their sins and restore
their country” (2Chr 7:14 NJB).
The Ninevites
were exact contrast of the Jews of Jesus’ time. This generation, according to
Jesus, will stand condemned on the judgment day because greater was their
privilege and greater will their condemnation be.
What could have blinded the Jews who were contemporaries of Jesus from heeding to the voice of the Messiah in their midst and repent from their sins? It is nothing far from pride and abuse of God’s privilege. Could these attitudes be the root causes of the errors of our modern world? There is no gainsay that human pride and abuse of God’s privilege are the bane of our society staggering in “amnesia of God”, crippled by “dictatorship of relativism”, and wrecked by the storm of “culture of death”. Today, ours is the privilege of Lent. Let us humble ourselves like the people of Nineveh and put up a genuine conversion of heart. This, and only this, can guarantee our salvation and vindication of our own generation.
