(Please read the Scripture passage before reading the homily.)
This generation seeks a sign, but no sign will; be given it except the sign of Jonah. Uh oh. Jonah was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights, but this is not the sign. Jonah was an unwilling prophet who ran out on God, took a boat for some place far away, but this is not the sign.
Jonah eventually did relent and go to Nineveh. He preached the word of God there. He said, “Forty days more and Nineveh will be destroyed.” The king heard about it and, to Jonah’s dismay, he commanded all his people and their animals to repent and they did. Such was the power of the word of God, that even animals could hear it and repent! This is the sign of Jonah.
To the people of Jesus’ time, there was something greater than Jonah. Solomon was known for his wisdom, but the people of Nineveh were wiser than Solomon. Yet the Wisdom of Solomon and the words of Jonah were less powerful than the presence of the One who spoke in Luke’s account.
We should not condemn the people of Jesus’ time for not recognizing the power and wisdom of God who spoke and acted in Jesus. With our sophistication and knowledge, do we recognize and pay attention to the word of God? Do I pay attention, and do you. Perhaps we are more like Jonah who tried to hide from God or more like the people who did not listen in the time of Jesus.
We celebrate a season called Lent. It is a time to pay closer attention to the word of God. It is a time to imitate the pagan people of Nineveh and their cattle, who listened deeply to the word of God. It is not a time to vacation in Tarshish or some other exotic place. It is time to pay attention to what God is saying to each of us. The sign of Jonah calls us to listen to the word of God.