In the gospel of today’s Mass we hear Jesus calling the first disciples to share in his ministry, to be prophets in the world, to deliver a message of love, hope, and redemption, and to draw others to God (Mark 1:14-20).
And in today’s Old Testament scripture (Jonah 3:1-5, 10) we hear the story of another prophet in a much earlier time. We hear about Jonah, the “reluctant” prophet, who was called by God to deliver a similar message to the wayward people of Nineveh.
Initially, Jonah questioned God’s wisdom and God’s plan. Jonah could not make sense out of God’s desire for the Ninevites – a pagan people and sworn enemy of Israel – to repent and be saved. It was only after disobeying God and running from God, only after spending three days in the belly of a whale and being rescued by God, that Jonah finally set out to do the work God asked of him.
And it was only after delivering God’s message and witnessing the Ninevites turning back to God in repentance that Jonah came to realize a most profound truth – that it is God’s love that moves people to repent and seek forgiveness, that this love is extended to all people, that God offers redemption and salvation to all, that no one is excluded.
Like Jonah and those first disciples of Jesus, we have also come to realize that God’s love and forgiveness is unmeasurable, that God extends mercy to all, and that our turning to God in love is nothing less than a response to God’s love for us.
And like Jonah and those first disciples we too are called to be prophets in the world, to help others come to know the great love that God has for each one of us, and to help inspire others to respond to that love and pay that love forward.
But of course, as God calls us to this prophetic role, we just might prefer to remain quiet. As it must have been for Jesus’ disciples, we might be a bit unsure of what we are getting into, or fear how our lives might change. Like Jonah, we might be reluctant, we might question God’s wisdom and plan for us.
But like those prophets who came before us, as we open our hearts and minds to God, we allow God’s love to conquer our uncertainty, to wipe away our fear, to overcome our reluctance. With God’s Spirit living and working in us we go out into the world as “modern day prophets” living lives that reflect God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness and drawing others to God.