A Success Story

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

Jonah is unique among the prophets of Israel. First of all, he was successful; no other prophet of Israel was. Secondly, Jonah was not murdered; all the other prophets were. Thirdly, Jonah was sent to non-Israelites; perhaps therein lies the reason for his success.

The Hebrew Scriptures often speak of the children of Israel as the Chosen People. God chose this small and insignificant ethnic group to be a people "peculiarly his own." Understandably, the bulk of the Scriptures are concerned with their history and their relationship to God. However, in the midst of all the writings of the historians and the prophets, there is the story of a man who was sent to Nineveh, a non-Israelite group. Jonah balked at God's insistence that he bring the Word of God to these non-believers. After struggling against the will of God, Jonah relents, goes to Nineveh, preaches the message of repentance, and moves the entire population to repentance. This is a success story unlike any other in the Scriptures.

The Gospel records that Jesus used the example of Jonah in his preaching. When he met with opposition, Jesus recalled Jonah's success. The crowd did not react positively to this reference. While the Ninevites accepted God's word and repented, Israel was the same stiff-necked people they always were. They did not accept God's Word even when it came from the Word Incarnate.

Yesterday's parable of the vineyard sets up the story of Jonah perfectly. Jesus tells the chief priests and elders that the vineyard will be passed on to other tenant farmers, men who will produce good fruit. In the story of Jonah, we hear of a group of people who turned toward God upon hearing a prophet warn them of impending doom. Because of their repentance, God relented in following through on the threat of destruction. The vineyard has indeed been passed on to a new group of people. God's Word now challenges us to heed the message of the Gospel. Reflecting on the story of Jonah reminds us that God's plan of salvation includes all people, all races, all ethnic groups. The question is: "How much good fruit are we producing?" The Ninevites stand as an example to us all.