http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/031214.cfm
What is the sign of Jonas?
In today’s reading, we’re told that “the word of the LORD
came to Jonah a second time,” and that it was in this iteration that he became
a prophet to the people of Ninevah. On his first attempt, though, Jonah
famously attempted to flee in the exact opposite direction-- Thomas Merton
(also known as the Dark Knight of the Soul) writes in his eponymous book The
Sign of Jonas, “[L]ike Jonas himself I find myself traveling toward my destiny
in the belly of a paradox.” How is it that a reluctant prophet trapped in the
digestive tract of a gigantic fish can become a sign of conversion to the capital
of the greatest city of the 8th century BC?
The sign of Jonah is exactly this: redemption is never
beyond our reach; in fact, it’s closer to us than the very molecules of our
being. No circumstance is beyond God’s saving grace, be it death, whale, or sin.
Lent is a season to cast away any presumption that clouds our view of God, to
contemplate our failings in penance, and to experience redemption literally
wherever our journey takes us. Armed with this knowledge, no further sign
should be necessary. The Easter Triduum looms just beyond the horizon as a sign
given in love. Merton tells us later in the same book, “Every minute life
begins all over again. Amen.” Let us all heed the Caped Cistercian’s call this
Lent, and embody the sign of Jonah in all we do!
Stephen Gan
FCRH 2015
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