Nineveh was the capital of the ancient Assyrian empire, a great cultural center, beautiful with gardens, statuary, parks, and a zoo. It was destroyed by the Babylonians. So many years after, in a time after return from exile, some reflected the greatness and fall of this city to form the story of Jonah. Jonah was reluctant to preach. There is something significant in Jonah. Though he knew the nature of God as loving, merciful, and slow to anger, he could not tolerate God being merciful to a foreign nation. Jonah reflects the conscience of the exclusive chosen feeling of the then Israel. All are God's people and God wants to bring life for all people. God made a covenant, People of the covenant have a call to be a sign for all people, that all receive the promise of God.
Jesus introduced the kingdom not simply as a vision, but as a call and commitment. His announcing statement was this, "The spirit of the Lord has anointed me to preach Good News to the Poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. It was the sign of the nature of the kingdom of God. Here is someone greater than Jonah.
The story of Jonah says that the Ninevite, though a gentile nation, repented listening to the preaching of Jonah. The people who asked for signs from Jesus, were not ignorant of the message. The message was clear, 'God is with us,' God is compassionate,' 'God cares for the poor and the weak.' But they were shrewd enough to know that these have consequences. So they use tricks to escape from them. The challenge was to accept universal salvation.
Jesus introduced the kingdom not simply as a vision, but as a call and commitment. His announcing statement was this, "The spirit of the Lord has anointed me to preach Good News to the Poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised. It was the sign of the nature of the kingdom of God. Here is someone greater than Jonah.
The story of Jonah says that the Ninevite, though a gentile nation, repented listening to the preaching of Jonah. The people who asked for signs from Jesus, were not ignorant of the message. The message was clear, 'God is with us,' God is compassionate,' 'God cares for the poor and the weak.' But they were shrewd enough to know that these have consequences. So they use tricks to escape from them. The challenge was to accept universal salvation.
The great sign challenges us too. God loves all, all are God's children. God's heart holds no boundaries of nation, religion, ideology, and traditions. So, be at ease to see the freedom and joy of the kingdom is offered to all. To allow that from the heart requires an attitude of accepting and welcoming those whom we have judged and kept aside. Then, the sign that we are called to become is the freedom of the children of God, sign of the message that God is with us, message of peace and consolation.
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