October 9, 2013

Wednesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 463
Reading 1 JON 4:1-11

Jonah was greatly displeased
and became angry that God did not carry out the evil
he threatened against Nineveh.

When God commanded Jonah to preach repentance to Nineveh in order for Nineveh to be saved, Jonah refused and ran away.  But where could he run and hide from God?  God brought him back and again commanded him to preach to Nineveh.  So, Jonah obeyed and lo and behold, Nineveh repented and God saved them.

This infuriated Jonah because he wanted Nineveh to pay with their lives for all the sins they had committed against Israel. 

He prayed, “I beseech you, LORD,
is not this what I said while I was still in my own country?
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.
And now, LORD, please take my life from me;
for it is better for me to die than to live.”

So, now, Jonah was so frustrated, he asked God to take his life.  He would rather die in a world where Ninevites had repented and turned to God.

But the LORD asked, “Have you reason to be angry?”

But God asked him, "what are you angry about?"

Jonah then left the city for a place to the east of it,
where he built himself a hut and waited under it in the shade,
to see what would happen to the city.
And when the LORD God provided a gourd plant
that grew up over Jonah’s head,
giving shade that relieved him of any discomfort,
Jonah was very happy over the plant.

Then, Jonah went outside of town and built a hut.  There, he sat under the shade.  Then God gave him a plant that would provide him shade all day.  And Jonah was very happy for the plant.

But the next morning at dawn
God sent a worm that attacked the plant,
so that it withered.
And when the sun arose, God sent a burning east wind;
and the sun beat upon Jonah’s head till he became faint.
Then Jonah asked for death, saying,
“I would be better off dead than alive.”

Then, the plant died and the sun beat on Jonah's head.  And Jonah became angry over the death of the shady plant.

But God said to Jonah,
“Have you reason to be angry over the plant?”
“I have reason to be angry,” Jonah answered, “angry enough to die.”

And God asked, "why are you so angry over the plant?"  And Jonah said, "I have my reasons and I am angry enough to die."

Then the LORD said,
“You are concerned over the plant which cost you no labor
and which you did not raise;
it came up in one night and in one night it perished.
And should I not be concerned over Nineveh, the great city,
in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons
who cannot distinguish their right hand from their left,
not to mention the many cattle?”

And God said, "I made the plant grow.  Not you.  And you are concerned about one little plant. But you are not at all concerned about all the men, made in my image, who would have died had you not preached to Nineveh.  And that doesn't include the other plants and animals who live in that city."

Responsorial Psalm PS 86:3-4, 5-6, 9-10

R. (15) Lord, you are merciful and gracious.
Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for to you I call all the day.
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

R. Lord, you are merciful and gracious.
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness to all who call upon you.
Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my pleading.

R. Lord, you are merciful and gracious.
All the nations you have made shall come
and worship you, O Lord,
and glorify your name.
For you are great, and you do wondrous deeds;
you alone are God.
R. Lord, you are merciful and gracious.

God is gracious and merciful.  If He heard the repentance of the Ninevites, he will hear all of us who repent and cry out in His name.

Gospel LK 11:1-4

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished,
one of his disciples said to him,
“Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.”
He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Father, hallowed be your name,
your Kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
and do not subject us to the final test.”

Jesus taught the disciples to pray the Our Father.  A prayer which is very efficacious in its words and meaning and also in its formula of praise and petition.