“This is why I fled at first to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, rich in clemency, loathe to punish.” (Jonah 4:2bc)
As we come to the end of the story of the prophet Jonah, we discover the motivation behind his actions. He did not want to warn the citizens of Nineveh of their impending doom. What he really wanted was their destruction. Ninevites were the enemies of Israel. Jonah is not at all interested in being part of their salvation.
Jonah’s attitude is a classic “them and us” attitude. They are the enemy. They are evil. God is on our side, not theirs. The notion that they deserve to experience God’s mercy, God’s clemency is just out of the question.
The Scriptures challenge us today to ask ourselves whether we harbor any of the same sentiments about people with whom we don’t see eye to eye. Today our culture and our society is almost completely divided by various issues. Some people believe that possession of firearms should be restricted; others champion the freedom to carry concealed weapons. Some people believe that a woman has a right to choose whether to carry a pregnancy to term; others believe that abortion is always wrong. Some people believe that two people of the same gender should be allowed to marry; others hold the position that only a man and a woman can enter into a marriage. Some believe that socialism is evil; others believe that capitalism is the cause of all our economic woes.
Obviously, I have an opinion and a belief about all of these issues. However, it is important for me and for all of us to realize that God’s love for “the other side” is just as strong as it is for my side. God loves us all – right or wrong, liberal or conservative, democrat or republican, blue state or red state, gay or straight, male or female, Christian or Muslim. God knows not the differences that we have devised to define one another. God knows only that all men and women are objects of Divine Love.
God asked Jonah to preach to the Ninevites, to bring God’s word to them so that they might be saved. We have been sent to do the same thing. We are to live God’s word in such a way that others will come to know God’s ways. That won’t happen if we condemn all those who think differently about certain issues and wish for their destruction. As the Holy Father has said very clearly, dialogue is the only way to overcome our differences.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator