Jonah 3:1 – 5, 10
This Sunday, we will hear from the Book of Jonah. The passage was clearly chosen to prepare us for the Gospel, as we shall see. We only hear from this book once every three years on Sunday – that is, this Sunday – so let’s spend some time understanding its genre. It is listed as a prophetic book, but is unique among the prophets for two reasons: 1) it is not a collection of oracles, but a narrative; and 2) Jonah’s behavior is the opposite of what we would expect from a prophet. The story may be considered either a fable, because of the role of the fish, or a parable, since it is a short story with an unexpected result.
Let’s examine the time of writing of the Book of Jonah. Those who have interpreted the book as an historical narrative identify Jonah with the 8th century prophet mentioned in 2 Kgs 14:25 and consider him to be the author of the book. Most scripture scholars, however, deny Jonah’s authorship and place the date for its writing at a later date for several compelling reasons. First of all, the Hebrew of the book contains vocabulary not found in 8th century literature, although it is found in other 5th – 2nd century writings. Also, the satirical tone in which the author writes about Jonah suggests that he is not writing about himself. The lack of significant details, such as the name of the king of Nineveh, indicates that the author is not writing about events of his time. Finally, the idea of God instructing Jonah to call a foreign nation – indeed, a mortal enemy – to conversion bespeaks of a mentality found in Ezra, Nehemiah and Ruth. Consequently, most scholars date the book between 400 and 200BC.
Before we examine the passage we will hear on Sunday, let’s look at some of the familiar elements of the story. Nineveh was the capital of the Assyrian kingdom that destroyed Israel in 721BC. It was destroyed by the Babylonians in 612BC when they overran this area. So, it was merely a distant memory for the people of post-exilic Israel. Jonah being swallowed by a large fish is an intervention of the Lord – Deus ex machina – that demonstrated God’s power over all creatures and events as he uses them as his instruments (cf. 1 Kgs 17:6; 13:1 – 29). The authors take liberties with facts to teach a religious lesson. The story is intended to show God’s desire for universal salvation in contrast to Israel’s belief that only Israel was to be saved. If the Jonah story is to be interpreted symbolically, Jonah, whose name means “dove” signifies Israel, the great fish signifies Babylon, and the three-day stay in the fish’s belly signifies the exile (cf. Jer 51:34; Is 27:1).
1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time:
2 “Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and announce to it the message that I will tell you.”
3 So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh, according to the LORD’S bidding. Now Nineveh was an enormously large city; it took three days to go through it.
4 Jonah began his journey through the city, and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing, “Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,”
Shall be destroyed: the Hebrew expression reminds the reader of the “overthrowing” of the wicked cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, by a special act of God.
5 when the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.
believed God; they proclaimed a fast: This conversion appears to be an illustration of foreigners listening to the call for repentance, very different from Ezekiel’s experience (cf. Ez 3:4 – 7).
6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes.
7 Then he had this proclaimed throughout Nineveh, by decree of the king and his nobles: “Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep, shall taste anything; they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water.
8 Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth and call loudly to God; every man shall turn from his evil way and from the violence he has in hand.
Beast . . . sackcloth: the animals carried the signs of this repentance, as on occasions of joy they bore garlands.
9 Who knows, God may relent and forgive, and withhold his blazing wrath, so that we shall not perish.”
10 When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way, he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it out.
he repented of the evil: It appears that the Lord’s oracles of doom are conditional and that he will relent if the people repent (cf. Jer 18:7-8, 26:3).
Mark 1:14 – 20
This week, we continue to hear from Mark’s Gospel with a summary of Jesus’ preaching at the beginning of his public ministry.
14 After John had been arrested, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:
After John had been arrested: in the plan of God, Jesus was not to proclaim the good news of salvation prior to the termination of the Baptist’s active mission. This is a foreshadowing of Jesus’ fate (9:31, 10:33, 14:10, 11, 44)
Galilee: in the Marcan account, scene of the major part of Jesus’ public ministry before his arrest and condemnation. The Galilean ministry is central to Mark. He uses this locale for theological reasons, since it is not only the area of Jesus’ earthly ministry but also the meeting-place of the Risen Lord according to Mark (cf. 16:7). Mark may be calling the Jerusalem community to look toward Galilee, since it may be the scene of the impending parousia.
The gospel of God: not only the good news from God but about God at work in Jesus Christ. Jesus himself may have used this phrase (cf. Is 61:1-2; 40:9, 52:7). This phrase is a distinctly Christian proclamation (cf. Gal 2:2, Col 1:23; 1 Thes 2:9).
15 “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
This is the time of fulfillment: i.e., of God’s promises. The kingdom of God . . . repent: see the note on Matthew 3:2. This summary is found in similar form in 1:39, 3:7-12, 6:6b).
The kingdom of God is at hand: cf. Mt 4:17. By inverting this order and starting with “this is the time of fulfillment,” Mk emphasizes the eschatological presence of Jesus in Galilee.
16 As he passed by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea; they were fishermen.
passed by: The Greek word παραγειν does not speak of a casual walking along, but an epiphanic event (cf. Mk 2:14; Mt 9:27, 20:30). His special power of calling or healing is evident at such occasions. This is similar to Old Testament events of God’s power (cf. Ex 33:19, 22; 1 Kgs 19:11).
he saw Simon and his brother Andrew: These verses narrate the call of the first Disciples. See the notes on Matthew 4:18-22 and Matthew 4:20.
17 Jesus said to them, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
18 Then they abandoned their nets and followed him.
19 He walked along a little farther and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They too were in a boat mending their nets.
Saw James…John: Mark combines incidents so as to make the three privileged disciples the first to be called (cf Lk 5:1-11; Jn 1:37, 42, 43).
20 Then he called them. So they left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him.
Mark’s purpose is to show that discipleship entails renunciation of possessions (cf. 10:21) and family (cf. 10:29).
1 Corinthians 7:29 – 31
We hear again from Paul’s letter to the Christians in Corinth.
29 I tell you, brothers, the time is running out. From now on, let those having wives act as not having them,
30 those weeping as not weeping, those rejoicing as not rejoicing, those buying as not owning,
31 those using the world as not using it fully. For the world in its present form is passing away.
The world . . . is passing away: Paul advises Christians to go about the ordinary activities of life in a manner different from those who are totally immersed in them and unaware of their transitoriness.
Our readings this Sunday call us to listen to and obey God’s voice and to act according to his will for us, with a focus on our eternal destiny. It’s a very important lesson for us to hear and heed as we continue Ordinary Time, that is, time ordered by God for our eternal salvation.