February 25, 2015

Feb. 25

February 25, 2015:  Wednesday, 1st Week of Lent

  • 'Whale' tie pin:  Jonah before the 1st reading
  • 'Girl with heart' pin:  create a clean heart in me (psalm)
  • 'Holy Spirit' chain:  don't take your Holy Spirit away (psalm)
  • 'Signs' tie:  no 'sign' will be given but the sign of Jonah (gospel)
  • 'Owl' tie pin:  Queen came to hear Solomon's wisdom (gospel)
  • 'Beast' pin:  Nineveh king:  “Neither man nor beast shall eat or drink.
  • Purple suspenders:  Lenten season
Listen

Read
  • Jon 3:1-10  Lord to Jonah:  “Set out for Nineveh, and prophesy.”  He began his journey, announcing, “40 days and Nineveh shall be destroyed”; they believed and proclaimed a fast.  The king rose, covered himself with sackcloth, sat in ashes, and proclaimed a fast: “Repent; God may relent and save us.”  God saw; he repented and didn't carry out the evil he'd threatened.
    (Not this "sign of Jonah" :-)
  • Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19  "A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn."  Have mercy on me.  Create a clean heart for me.
  • Lk 11:29-32  “No sign will be given this evil generation but Jonah; the Son of Man will be a sign like Jonah.  At the judgment, the queen of the south who came to hear Solomon's wisdom will condemn this generation; at the judgment, repentant Nineveh will condemn this generation.  Something greater than Solomon and Jonah is here.”
God bless Ivette, Manny, and Santiago!
Reflect
    • Creighton:  At Jonah's preaching, Nineveh's king and people turned from their evil ways.  Since the threat probably wasn't enough motivation, did he remind them of their freedom and the goodness and courage within them, and that God created, loved, and called them?  We believe we're fundamentally flawed, fear disapproval, and turn against ourselves in self-hatred, or against others in judgment and hostility. It's easy to recognize sin around us but hard to recognize the lies we believe about ourselves contribute to that sin.
    • One Bread One Body:  "Connect the dots":  The Ninevites made the connection between their sins and the threatened destruction.  Wicked though they were, the prophecy reached them, and they repented.  Today our culture, and we ourselves, can miss the connection between sin and destruction.  We need to make the connection between our sinfulness and Jesus' mercy and forgiveness....
    • Passionist:  "Another chance, another opportunity":  To Jonah's dislike, he was a sign of God’s mercy to the Ninevites, outsiders.  Ponder God's mercy and compassion, and show compassion for those who wrong us.
    • DailyScripture.net:  The Ninevites recognized God's warning in Jonah's prophecy, and they repented.  The Queen of Sheba recognized God's wisdom in Solomon.  But the religious leaders weren't satisfied with the signs before their eyes:  John the Baptist, Simeon, and Jesus.  God will transform us if we listen and allow the Spirit to work in us.

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