Am I reluctant to Follow Our Lord???

(Jonah 3:1-10)
 

Jonah had been so anxious to avoid giving Our Lord’s Message to the citizens of Nineveh that he had at first set off in the opposite direction and hopped on a boat bound for Spain!

It took a perilously close look at death to convince him that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time!  Our Lord, firmly insistent and full of patience, gives him a second chance, and this time Jonah obeys straight away.

The outcome of his obedience is that a whole enormous city is rescued.  Contrary to Jonah’s expectations, the threat of destruction brings the people to their senses, and they repent of the way they have been behaving.

Every day we can come across instances of grossly unjust, greed, destructive and abusive behaviour in our world, and no doubt they cause us concern.  Could it be that such behaviour continues and thrives because there is no one prepared to speak out against it and warn of the effects of such a way of life?  Like Jonah, we are tempted to busy ourselves elsewhere, fearing the consequences of speaking out boldly.

As Christ’s Body on earth, despite the circumstances, we are asked to share the “Good News” in order that our Society comes into “newness of life”, enabling the World to become a place of peace and delight.

**And Our Lord will help us!!!

 Jonah 3:1-10

 ¹ Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: ² “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”

 ³ Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. ⁴ Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” ⁵ The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

 ⁶ When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. ⁷ This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh:

   “By the decree of the king and his nobles:

   Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. ⁸ But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. ⁹ Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.”

 ¹⁰ When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

THANKSGIVING FOR FAITH

Paul had founded the church at Thessalonica on his second journey enroute from Philippi to Achaia. His preaching of Jesus as the Messiah aroused anger and controversy which caused Paul to leave. Sometime later while at Corinth Timothy arrived with news of the growth of the Thessalonian Church.

Paul and his friends write to express their joy to the people who had endured persecution , giving thanks for their faith and steadfastness. The facts were known widespread and spoke for themselves, their work produced by faith, their labour prompted by love and their endurance inspired by hope.

FAITH HOPE & LOVE.

A triad of graces found often in the N.T. Paul and his friends rejoice in the knowledge that these graces are manifested in the life and activity of the Thessalonians. They had recognised the genuineness of the Thessalonians’ Christianity by the way in which they had received the Gospel in the beginning and this was confirmed by the news Timothy had brought back.

This conduct and witness bore undeniable witness to their
being truly chosen by God and that it was the work of the Holy Spirit which enabled them to believe the truth of the Gospel and embrace it and live it out in their lives.

Paul states that Faith is trust in the person of Jesus, the truth of his teaching and the redemptive work he accomplished at Calvary. Hope is the gift of Holy Spirit, that with faith and love is an essential characteristic of the Christian. Hope includes trust, confidence and refuge in the God of Hope. Love is presented in the Gospel as the very nature of God and the greatest of the Christian virtues as Paul wrote (1Cor.13:13) It lies at the very heart of Christianity being essential to our relationship to God and people. Love is vitally related to faith, faith is basic, but a faith that does not manifest itself in love both towards God and people is dead and worthless.

The Thessalonians built the church on FAITH HOPE AND LOVE the outcome bringing joy and thanksgiving to Paul, Silas, Timothy and to God.

The witness of the people of Thessalonica should give us encouragement and perseverance to do the same.