Third Sunday of Ordinary Time
7,518. This is the population size of the isolated, farm town I grew up in. So, you can imagine my disbelief and awe when I visited Manhattan for the first time. Never had I seen such tall buildings, such busy trains, and such large crowds and it was love at first sight. In the time of Jonah the prophet, Nineveh was a large city, large like Manhattan is today. Well, not that large, but with probably more than 100,000 people, which was large at the time. So, can you imagine being Jonah and having the mission to convert the people of a large city like that?
At first, when God gave this mission to Jonah, he ran. It must have been a daunting task to even imagine, maybe he thought even a dangerous and futile to proclaim repentance to so many who were hard of heart! And yet Jonah obeys and succeeds. (Of course, this was after running away, at first, and being swallowed by a whale!) In the end, not only does he convert a few people in three days, he converts all in one. If that’s not a miracle, then I don’t know what is. We have a God who does the impossible and this is a story that should remind us of His almighty power.
Despite the history of our faith – hearing, understanding, and obeying God’s will is challenging. I don’t think God is calling me to convert Manhattan, but if he did, would I say yes? Would I even have the courage to return to my hometown and convert the 7000?
“What would I say? Where would I start? How will they respond to me? What happens if it fails?”
We are professionals at asking silly questions and making irrelevant excuses, it’s a wonder we aren’t all sitting in whales right now. But there is hope in knowing that Jonah was the same. He was afraid, he had doubts and prejudice, but with one ‘yes’ and a day’s walk, God worked miracles through him. Our first reading assures us that a small act of obedience is far greater than all our acts of defiance. The grace that God can offer to us through one yes is far greater than our compilation of sin and suffering which seem so overwhelming.
In Sunday’s Gospel, the apostles leave everything to follow Jesus. This is not because they were particularly holy or lived a life that was easy to leave. It was simply because they were open to receiving the grace to obey. And as we know, their ‘yes’ healed lepers, cast out demons, converted pagans, and started the Church.
Make one small ‘yes’ today and just watch as God’s grace overflows. Do one act of obedience and watch as hearts of stone are softened.