A Reflection on the Daily Office Readings
God told Jonah to go to Nineveh but Jonah tried to escape from the Lord’s presence by boarding a ship headed to Tarshish. The Lord brought such a great wind and storm upon the sea that the ship was on the verge of breaking into pieces. The mariners were afraid, and each cried to his god. In an attempt to lighten the ship, the mariners threw the cargo that was in the ship into the sea. Jonah, meanwhile, had gone down into the hold of the ship and had lain down, and was fast asleep. The captain came and said to him, "What are you doing sound asleep? Get up, call on your god! Perhaps the god will spare us a thought so that we do not perish." The sailors said to one another, "Come, let us cast lots, so that we may know on whose account this calamity has come upon us." So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. Then they said to him, "Tell us why this calamity has come upon us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?" "I am a Hebrew," he replied. "I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land." Then the men were even more afraid, and said to him, "What is this that you have done!" For the men knew that he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them so. Then they said to him, "What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?" For the sea was growing more and more tempestuous. He said to them, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you; for I know it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you." Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring the ship back to land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more stormy against them. Then they cried out to the Lord, "Please, O Lord, we pray, do not let us perish on account of this man's life. Do not make us guilty of innocent blood; for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you." So they picked Jonah up and threw him into the sea; and the sea ceased from its raging. Then the men feared the Lord even more, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. But the Lord provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
What is God calling us to do that we are hesitant about doing?
Is it possible to escape the Lord’s presence?
What storm has arisen in our life due to our own misguided choices?
Jonah was sound asleep in the hold of the ship while the mariners were trying to figure out how to respond to the trouble at sea. Do you think Jonah was in hiding?
Are we cognizant about the trouble that surrounds us, and how are we responding to the trouble?
Do we try to hide from others when it becomes clear to us that we made a mistake?
The thunder, lightning, crashing waves, and damage to the boat were not enough to wake Jonah up. The mariners had to wake Jonah up. How does God affect others in hopes of waking us up from our numbing disobedience?
Jonah stated to the mariners - “Pick me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you; for I know it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you." How can we make reparations in light of the mistakes that we have made?
Governor Festus felt Paul was out of his mind as a result of too much learning. Paul tried to explain to Governor Festus and King Agrippa that he was just speaking the sober truth in public. Ultimately, neither Festus nor Agrippa felt that Paul was doing anything to deserve death or imprisonment. They transferred Paul to a centurion named Julius who treated Paul kindly, allowed him to go to his friends, and to be cared for. The centurion then put Paul on a ship bound for Italy.
Is there such a thing as too much learning?
Paul made it very clear that he was not trying to hide anything. In fact, Paul makes it very clear that he was just speaking the sober truth in public. What truth have we tried to voice in public only to be judged and condemned for speaking the truth?
Whose authority have we been placed under and how have they treated us while we were in their care?
In this passage we come across two occasions where healing takes place. The first occurs as Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, falls down at Jesus’ feet and begs him to heal his only daughter. The girl was twelve years of age and was dying. The second occurs as a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years comes up behind Jesus and touches the fringe of his clothes. Immediately her hemorrhage stopped. We are told that this woman had spent all she had on physicians but no one could cure her. We can infer from scripture that, in that particular community, it was not considered proper etiquette for a hemorrhaging woman to approach Jesus. This may explain why, when Jesus inquired as to who had touched him, this woman attempted to keep her action discreet and tried to fly under the radar. However, when the woman saw that she could not remain hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before him, she declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace." While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from Jairus’ house to say, "Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the teacher any longer." When Jesus heard this, he replied, "Do not fear. Only believe, and she will be saved." When Jesus arrived at the home of Jairus, he did not allow anyone to enter with him, except Peter, John, and James, and the child's father and mother. They were all weeping and wailing for her; but Jesus said, "Do not weep; for she is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But Jesus took her by the hand and called out, "Child, get up!" Her spirit returned, and she got up at once. Then he directed them to give her something to eat. Her parents were astounded; but he ordered them to tell no one what had happened.
Does healing happen today? Share any experience you might have with healing that has taken place.
The hemorrhaging woman initially tried to keep her situation hidden from the community because she knew society would not understand. Do people feel safe sharing their needs with us? Why or why not?
Can you relate with the grieving community who believed that the twelve year old girl had died? If so, in what way do you relate with this experience? If not, what keeps you from relating?
Members of the community laughed at Jesus when he said that the young girl had not died. In what ways have we laughed at Jesus by our blatant disbelief?
Why do you think that Jesus ordered the community not to tell anyone what had happened?
To God be the glory now and forever. Amen.
Fr. Thomas+
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