Except the sign of Jonah

Jl 3,1-10; Ps 50; Lk 11,29-32
13 MARCH

Even if Jonah is a sign of Lord Jesus, the difference between the ancient prophet and the Christ of God is great, very great. Jonah remained in the womb of a fish for disobedience, for having refused to go and preach to Nineveh. First, the Lord arranged that he were thrown into the sea. Then he had him picked up by the big fish and brought back to the shore. Once on dry land, the Lord again commanded him to go and preach into the sinful and corrupt city. Instead, Jesus stayed three days and three nights in the womb of the earth for his most pure obedience to the will of his Father. On the third day the Father raised him up and clothed him with eternal glory. It is a difference that must be grasped and brought to light. However, the three days of darkness in the belly of death remain.

But the Lord sent a large fish, that swallowed Jonah; and he remained in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. From the belly of the fish Jonah said this prayer to the Lord, his God: Out of my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me; From the midst of the nether world I cried for help, and you heard my voice. For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the sea, and the flood enveloped me; All your breakers and your billows passed over me. Then I said, “I am banished from your sight! yet would I again look upon your holy temple.” The waters swirled about me, threatening my life; the abyss enveloped me; seaweed clung about my head. Down I went to the roots of the mountains; the bars of the nether world were closing behind me forever, But you brought my life up from the pit, O Lord, my God. When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; My prayer reached you in your holy temple. Those who worship vain idols forsake their source of mercy. But I, with resounding praise, will sacrifice to you; What I have vowed I will pay: deliverance is from the Lord. Then the Lord commanded the fish to spew Jonah upon the shore (Jo 2,1-11).

Jonah goes to Nineveh, announces to the city a very short message from the Lord: “Forty days more and Nineveh will be destroyed”. Conversion is universal. Jesus comes, works every miracle and prodigy, his generation is deaf to his Word. It refuses to be converted. It does not want to return to obedience to its Lord.

While still more people gathered in the crowd, he said to them, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here. At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.

The Queen of Sheba comes from far away to listen to Solomon, a man endowed with wisdom. Jesus is Eternal Wisdom made flesh and his generation mocks him.

The queen of Sheba, having heard of Solomon’s fame, came to test him with subtle questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a very numerous retinue, and with camels bearing spices, a large amount of gold, and precious stones. She came to Solomon and questioned him on every subject in which she was interested. King Solomon explained everything she asked about, and there remained nothing hidden from him that he could not explain to her. When the queen of Sheba witnessed Solomon’s great wisdom, the palace he had built, the food at his table, the seating of his ministers, the attendance and garb of his waiters, his banquet service, and the holocausts he offered in the temple of the Lord, she was breathless. “The report I heard in my country about your deeds and your wisdom is true,” she told the king. “Though I did not believe the report until I came and saw with my own eyes, I have discovered that they were not telling me the half. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report I heard. Happy are your men, happy these servants of yours, who stand before you always and listen to your wisdom. Blessed be the Lord, your God, whom it has pleased to place you on the throne of Israel. In his enduring love for Israel, the Lord has made you king to carry out judgment and justice” (1Kings 10,1-9).

Mother of God, Angels and Saints, give us a true and sincere conversion to the Word of Jesus.