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command
This is the
word of the LORD that came to Jonah, son of Amittai:
“Set out for
the great city of Nineveh, and preach against it; their wickedness has come up
before me.” But Jonah made ready to flee to Tarshish away from the LORD. He
went down to Joppa, found a ship going to Tarshish,paid the
fare, and went aboard to journey with them to Tarshish, away from the LORD.
The LORD,
however, hurled a violent wind upon the sea, and in the furious tempest that
arose the ship was on the point of breaking up. Then the mariners became
frightened and each one cried to his god. To lighten the ship for themselves,
they threw its cargo into the sea. Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down into the hold
of the ship, and lay there fast asleep. The captain came to him and said, “What
are you doing asleep? Rise up, call upon your God! Perhaps God will be mindful
of us so that we may not perish.”
Then they
said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots to find out on whose account we
have met with this misfortune.” So they cast lots, and thus singled out Jonah.
“Tell us,” they said, “what is your business? Where do you come from? What is
your country, and to what people do you belong?”
Jonah
answered them, “I am a Hebrew, I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made
the sea and the dry land.”
Now the men were seized with great fear
and said to him, “How could you do such a thing!– They knew that he was fleeing from the
LORD, because he had told them.– They asked, “What shall we do with you, that
the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea was growing more and more turbulent.
Jonah said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea, that it may quiet
down for you; since I know it is because of me that this violent storm has come
upon you.”
Still the men
rowed hard to regain the land, but they could not, for the sea grew ever more
turbulent. Then they cried to the LORD: “We beseech you, O LORD, let us not
perish for taking this man’s life; do not charge us with shedding innocent
blood, for you, LORD, have done as you saw fit.” Then they took Jonah and threw
him into the sea, and the sea’s raging abated.
Struck with
great fear of the LORD, the men offered sacrifice and made vows to him.
But the LORD
sent a large fish, that swallowed Jonah; and Jonah remained in the belly of the
fish three days and three nights. From the belly of the fish Jonah prayed to
the LORD, his God. Then the LORD commanded the fish to spew Jonah upon the
shore.
Out of my distress I called to the LORD,
and he answered me; from the midst of the nether world I cried for help, and
you heard my voice.
For you cast
me into the deep, into the heart of the sea, and the flood enveloped me; all
your breakers and your billows passed over me.
Then I said,
“I am banished from your sight! Yet would I again look upon your holy temple.”
When my soul fainted within me, I
remembered the LORD; my prayer reached you in your holy temple.
I give you a
new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.
There was a
scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said, “Teacher, what must I
do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus said to
him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?”
He said in
reply, “You shall love the
Lord, your God, with all your heart,with all your being, with all your strength, and
with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
He replied to
him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”
But because
he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus
replied, “A man fell victim to robbers
as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went
off leaving him half-dead. A priest
happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the
opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he
passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He
approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.
Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him.
The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with
the instruction, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given
you, I shall repay you on my way back.’ Which
of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?”
He answered,
“The one who treated him with mercy.”
Jesus said to
him, “Go and do likewise.”
1. We and others
are hurt when we disobey God. Jonah and the sailors had to go through ordeal
described in the first reading, and the victim in the Gospel reading had to wait
for help while the priest and Levite passed him by.
2. That is not
changed by the fact that we think we have good reasons to disregard God’s
direction. Jonah had understandable reasons for not wanting to go to Nineveh
(it was a scary and unclean, place), and the priest & Levite had their
reasons (staying ceremonially clean and on schedule to do their jobs). The harm still resulted.
3. In contrast,
others are blessed when we obey God. The Ninavites were saved because Jonah
eventually complied with God’s directions and the victim was cared for because
the Samaritan obeyed God’s prompting to help.
4. God knows
better than we do and we must trust Him; He has our good in mind, and
disobedience will not work anyway. See Isaiah
55, Psalm
27:1, Psalm
33:10-11, Psalm
127:1-2, Proverbs
19:21,
5. We therefore must listen for—and too—God’s instructions.
6. We must also
remember that even if we mess up and deviate from God’s will, He will still
help us get back on track if we ask Him. Isaiah
55:6-7, Luke
15, John
6:37.
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