11 October 2017
Memorial of St. John XXIII, Pope
One of the sad effects of original sin is a disordered desire for others to receive their just deserts. The prophet Jonah displays this. “Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry that God did not carry out the evil he threatened against Nineveh.” (Jon 4:1) Nineveh was a city not only of general wicked activity, but the capital of an empire which would exile the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Israel. Jonah sees the Ninevites as enemies, those whom he opposes and whom God should oppose as well. But the Lord does not oppose them, nor does He treat them as enemies. He accepts their repentance and has mercy, treating them as His children.
‘I knew it,’ says Jonah. “I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, rich in clemency, loath to punish.” (Jon 4:2) Jonah did not want to preach because he knew there was a possible reconciliation with those whom he wanted justly punished. “But the LORD asked, ‘Have you reason to be angry?’” (Jon 4:4) The Lord works with Jonah, to show him that he should value mercy over retribution. Why? Perhaps for the same reason Jesus teaches us to pray in the manner that He does… because God is Our Father. And if he is truly Our Father, then we should treat one another as children of that same Father.
St. John XXIII (1881-1963) did this over and over again in life: as a priest, as a medic and chaplain during WWI, as a papal diplomat granting visas to escaping Jews in WWII, and as the pope who urged the world to peace and reconciliation (in a particularly urgent way during the Cuban missile crisis). His life shows us the disorder involved in Jonah sitting outside Nineveh watching and waiting for the Lord to destroy it. May such disorder not be found in us. Let us pray for the fruit of peace in our lives and in our world. Let us be insistent on this petition by truly treating even our worst enemies as beloved children of God.