January 21, 2024

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

This weekend we have Mark’s version of the call of the first apostles (Mk. 1:14-20) which we read last week from John. We hear about Andrew, with his brother Simon, and also John, the son of Zebedee, this time mentioned specifically by name, along with his brother James. We see again how readily they respond to the call of Jesus. They simply abandon their nets and follow him (Mk. 1:18).

We could easily contrast the response of these disciples of Jesus to the very reluctant response of Jonah from the First Reading (Jon. 3:1-5, 10).  Remember he ended up in the belly of a large fish trying to avoid the mission given to him by God. But there is another, less obvious contrast between these readings regarding the call to repentance which is being announced.

Here it helps to know the context of Jonah’s mission before looking at the reading for today. Jonah’s commission by God is different from most of the other prophets of the Old Testament. Instead of being called to preach to the people of Israel, he is sent to their bitter enemies, the Assyrians living in the capital city called Nineveh.

Jonah is presented as being one of the most stubborn and disobedient of the prophets, very unwilling to fulfill the mission for which he is called. Because he views the Ninevites as foreigners unworthy of a relationship with and offer of salvation from God, he attempts to escape the command of God by hiding on a ship bound for another country (Jon. 1:4).

For his disobedience to God, Jonah is thrown overboard and swallowed by a large fish from which he begs for mercy. After three days, God rescues Jonah by commanding the fish to vomit him onto dry land (Jon. 1:2-11). This time Jonah relents and responds to God’s call. This brings us to the scene of the First Reading.

Jonah embarks on a three-day journey through the city of Nineveh to announce the city’s impending judgement and potential destruction. In just a single day, all the people come to believe in God and the king announces a decree for repentance, through fasting and the donning of sackcloth. As a result of their actions, God sympathizes and concedes, thus Nineveh is saved and remains unharmed (Jon. 3:1-10).

When we look at the Gospel for today, we encounter a scene similar to that of the First Reading. After the arrest of John the Baptist, Jesus travels to Galilee to begin his ministry. Like Jonah, he goes through the city issuing a call to repentance. He announces, “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” (Mk. 1:15).

By proclaiming the “gospel,” or good news, Jesus is declaring that the new order of God’s kingdom has broken into the world with his arrival. Something new and wonderful is happening which will bring salvation to God’s chosen people and all the nations. The evidence of this is first seen in the call of the twelve disciples who represent the twelve tribes of Israel. It will later be witnessed in Jesus’ authoritative teaching, his compassion for sinners and healing ministry, and ultimately through his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension.

This is where we see the unfortunate contrast to the First Reading. Unlike the Ninevites who readily respond to Jonah’s call to repentance, many of the Jews at the time of Jesus fail to recognize him as their savior and disregard him altogether. The contrast in response is so significant that we actually hear Jesus reference it in the Gospel of Matthew.

When some of the scribes and Pharisees approach Jesus seeking a sign of his identity, Jesus responds, “An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and there is something greater than Jonah here. (Mt. 12:39-41).

Of course, by comparing the three days and nights that Jonah spent in the belly of the fish to the Son of Man being in the earth, Jesus is referring to the time he will spend in the tomb after his crucifixion. He condemns the Pharisees as being an “evil and unfaithful generation” (Mt. 12:39-40), knowing that even after his resurrection, a sign much greater than Jonah being rescued from the fish, they will not believe and repent in the way that the Ninevites did in their time (Mt. 12:41).

St. Tomas Aquinas once wrote, “For those who believe, no evidence is necessary. For those who do not believe, no evidence is possible.” This is kind of what Jesus is saying to the Jewish leaders. The people of Nineveh had no evidence that God was in their presence to save them, all they had was the warning of some foreign prophet. Yet, with faith they repented and believed.

The scribes and Pharisees are offered the proof of the resurrection through the presence of the empty tomb and the many eyewitness accounts of the appearances of the risen Christ. Yet none of this proof is enough for them to come to believe in Jesus.

As children of God, we have all been offered the gift of faith and the chance to repent of our wrongdoing. However, in our weakened humanity, it can be very difficult to stay true to the course. Fortunately, we have been given the teachings of our church and the presence of the Holy Spirit, through the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist, to rightfully respond to the Lord when we hear his invitation.

And above all of this, Jesus tells us exactly what to do, “Repent, and believe in the gospel!”