Readings: Jonas 1:1-2:1, 10; (Psalm) Jonas 2; Luke 10:25-37)
Today’s first reading begin with Jonah’s flight from his assignment from the Lord to go to Nineveh and preach. He knew the Lord if he preached there, the Ninevites might repent. If they repented, God would show mercy. He seemingly thought the Ninevites were deserving of judgment. He decided to go somewhere else and prevent them from receiving mercy. Poor Jonah did not anticipate the Lord’s next move. God decided to move others (his fellow mariners), creatures (the great fish), and events (storm) to bring Jonah to Nineveh despite his objections. Apparently, the Lord wanted to extend mercy to those Ninevites!
One cannot help but notice the reluctance of Jonah’s fellow mariners to throw Jonah out of the ship. They earnestly tried to save his life along with their own. They eventually followed Jonah’s prophetic voice, even turning to God in prayer for mercy. Jonah received mercy in being discharged from the great fish, even if a mercy that put him with the Ninevites and back on track fulfilling his prophet duties. True, we can’t always get what we want.
Today’s Gospel continues this theme of God’s mercy. Jesus responds to a scholar of the law with the familiar parable of the Samaritan. The lesson from the Samaritan’s example likely challenged the scholar. He might have preferred another example but it would not convey the same message about extending mercy to those who are different from us, and that others we might not think too much of may be better at showing mercy than we are. We like to emphasize our strengths coinciding with gifts coming from God. Instead, at times Jesus asks us to embrace our weaknesses to follow him. “Go and do likewise” is going to be tough for most of us. We know Jesus teaches that showing mercy is the path to receiving mercy. Like Jonah, we might prefer another path, but surely God will keep working to bring us more encounters that help us learn to execute this mission. We often prefer to judge others instead of loving them. Let’s do as the Samaritan showed us and realize God work in our lives to help us know and exercise His mercy.