“The people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast and put on sackcloth, from their greatest even to their least. The news reached the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, took off his royal robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. He made a proclamation and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, ‘Let neither man nor animal, herd nor flock, taste anything; let them not feed, nor drink water; but let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and animal, and let them cry mightily to God. Yes, let them turn everyone from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows whether God will not turn and relent, and turn away from his fierce anger, so that we might not perish?’”
– Jonah 3:5-9, WEBBE
The Kingdom of Nineveh repented and they were saved from an impending calamity. Should we not do the same? Ours is a world already beset with various kinds of disasters, including the COVID19 Pandemic that changed the way we live. We are already within the threshold of darkness, but we remain stiff necked and unwilling to mend our ways. Even if Jonah himself would warn us, would we repent?
It is not wrong to survive. It is not wrong to find ways to adapt to our current situation and to sometimes try to forget the many troubles that we have.
But I think there is something wrong if we do not notice the kind of world we’re living in. It is no longer a world where Christianity reigns. Rather, it is a world where secularism has made its way into our lives, urging us to forget what little faith we have, exposing our young ones to the idea that belief in God is absurd and all those who think otherwise are either hypocrites or unlearned men.
“Why is it that so few realize the seriousness of our present crisis? Partly because men do not want to believe their own times are wicked, partly because it involves too much self accusation and principally because they have no standards outside of themselves by which to measure their times. If there is no fixed concept of justice how shall men know it is violated? Only those who live by faith really know what is happening in the world. The great masses without faith are unconscious of the destructive processes going on. The tragedy is not that the hairs of our civilization are gray; it is rather our failure to see that they are.” – Fulton J. Sheen
“Dear friends, may no adversity paralyze you. Be afraid neither of the world, nor of the future, nor of your weakness. The Lord has allowed you to live in this moment in history so that, by your faith, his name will continue to resound throughout the world.”– Pope Benedict XVI
“God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way. God relented of the disaster which he said he would do to them, and he didn’t do it.” – Jonah 3:10, WEBBE
Find hope in your darkest hour.
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One reply on “Why Are We Still Not Repenting in Dust and Ashes?”
Excellent article, as always, Joyce.