B: 3rd Sun of OrdTime (24 Jan 2021) - REPENTANCE OF THE ENEMIES (Jon 3:1-5, 10)

The idea that enemies can repent and even be spiritually better than the oppressed seems like a bitter pill to swallow. In our usual way of thinking, this scenario happens only rarely, and even if it does, a repenting sinner still needs to compensate the victims or pay the damages done as a result of his/her harmful actions. Thus, at the end of the day, nobody is given an outright pass to behavioral transformation without any form of serious retribution to the aggrieved party.

However, the opposite is what transpired in our first reading today where the Ninevites were called by God to conversion (Jon 3:2). He called Jonah to go and preach to them lest he annihilates their great city (1:2). Nineveh was the capital city of the Assyrian empire that conquered the northern kingdom of Israel with the successive military invasions of the Assyrian kings Tiglath-pileser III (2 Kgs 16:7-10), Shalmeneser V (17:3-4), and Sargon II (17:5). In 722/721 BCE they successfully conquered the capital city of Samaria and the other Israelite regions, dubbed as the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel. The aftermath of this attack was devastating both for the nation and the people. The Assyrians actually exiled the colonized Israelites (or a good number of them) (vv. 2-23) and repopulated the land with other peoples from conquered territories, who brought along their pagan beliefs and practices (vv. 24-41).

Meanwhile, in the southern kingdom, the Assyrians attempted to invade, too, Jerusalem. Specifically, the Assyrian king Sennacherib launched an attack against the Judean king Hezekiah in 701 BCE (2 Kgs 19:9-37). But fortified with impregnable high walls, Jerusalem was able to slow down the onslaught. The Assyrians decided to besiege the city “like a bird in a cage” to force the citizens to surrender out of starvation. But since Hezekiah had prepared beforehand the city for this scheme, coupled by the miraculous intervention of the angel of the Lord who had killed 185,000 men from the enemy camp (v. 35), Sennacherib and the Assyrians retreated (v. 36), leaving Jerusalem unconquered for the time being.

By and large, the overall portrait of the Assyrians in the Hebrew Bible is an image of viciousness and brutality as conquerors, viz., murdering a plethora of Israelites, destroying their cities, and exiling their citizens. It is, then, understandable why Jonah initially resisted in evangelizing them, attempting even to escape this divine mission by boarding a ship to Tarshish (Jon 1:3). But because of God’s machinations, his voyage was terribly hit by a storm (v. 4), and he was tossed to the sea to appease the angry waters (v. 15). Soon, a great fish swallowed him (2:1) and spew him directly to Nineveh, as planned (2:11). Jonah was, hereby, forced to obey God’s command. Surprisingly, the Ninevites believed him and repented: fasting and putting on sackcloth (3:5). Yet, even more surprising was God, who also repented (or: changed his heart) (v. 10), without penalizing them or humbling them before the Israelites.

While such a scenario is something unacceptable in today’s society, especially in our pursuit of justice and equity, the kingdom of God operates in the converse. Acting not according to our human standards, God opts for the extension of mercy, compassion, and salvation for all. This only means that any sinner, regardless of the magnitude of his/her offense, will be forgiven anytime by God once an authentic repentance is performed. If the Assyrians, who committed the horrible and gruesome crime of massacring the Israelite population in their conquest, were forgiven by God, any person on earth, regardless of the extent or magnitude of his/her sin, can always be forgiven and be made anew. Of course, a necessary fair retribution in the name of justice should be done to mitigate the sufferings inflicted on victims and their families, but, still, any offender on earth has a chance to repent, to repair, to recompense, and to redeem him/herself from the dark past by being converted to Christ.

In this regard, the narrative text of Jonah is telling us that nobody is barred entrance to God’s abode in heaven. This fact entails that we must never put judgment on people, condemn societal menaces, typecast ethnic groups, and give up on anybody in terms of repenting and becoming holy. While it is seemingly impossible for a sinner to convert to sainthood, such a task is something that is very possible with God… thus, each of us has the equal opportunity of transforming and attaining salvation.

- Rex Fortes, CM