Daily Reflection for Wednesday, March 04, 2020
Peace and Blessings, Friends and Parishioners,
We encourage you to reflect on Wednesday’s readings at this link:
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/030420.cfm
If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: Jonah 3:1-10
Responsorial: Psalm 51: 3-4, 12-13, 18-19
Gospel: Luke 11:29-32
Our reflection on Wednesday’s readings:
. . . the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small put on sackcloth. Jonah 3:5
This event wouldn’t be an Oscar or Academy-winning movie! Jonah comes into Nineveh; he tells the people to change from their evil ways. Guess what; they do and for extra measure, the King agrees and exhorts his people to change. Ditto, God is pleased.
No self-righteous vindication here, no World Wrestling Association smack down is going to happen. At times, I find myself being self-righteous. “Look at those bad people in Nineveh. God is going to put a hurt on them. I am glad, I am righteous.” I am elated to find fault in others and more than willing to share my slanderous comments. Nineveh would have put a button on my lips.
Last year, I (Carlos) sent a pound cake to one of my relatives. Not arriving as scheduled although noted as being delivered, I surmised one or all the children had made quick work of the cake, and with their sugar-covered lips had lied about its arrival. For a change, I didn’t—with relish—tell relatives about the missing cake or allude to what may have happened.
Four months later, the hardened, stale pound cake shows up at my door. The address was wrong (my fault). How much damage would I have done by accusing the children of eating the cake? I felt how powerful and damaging words can be.
Here the setting is Nineveh—a city that is not Jewish and one of the largest cities of its time. How often do we see a Nineveh as the other, not of us, and relish in their demise? The world is becoming smaller everyday—I am not going to accuse anyone of cake stealing again!
As we continue this Lenten season, let’s allow ourselves to prepare for the celebration of Christ’s death and resurrection as we think about things we may have done, both major and minor. “Thoroughly wash away my guilt; and from my sin cleanse me.” (Psalm 51:4)
Prayerfully,
Dorothy and Carlos Alexander