I imagined a brief story when I considered the texts for today’s Mass.

Father John, a very fine preacher in New York, was praying for his relatives in Ukraine.  His Father and Mother had come to the states in the latter part of the 20th Century and had been successful at settling in and becoming successful with green cards and, gradually, citizenship.  Through the years they had filled their children with a deep love for “old country” and took them to visit grandparents and aunts and uncles on both sides of the family.  Unfortunately they had also handed on their anger and hatred at the people and leaders of Russia.

During Fr. John’s prayer he heard the Lord ask him to go to Moscow and tell the people of that great city that unless they repent of their evil God would destroy them in forty days.  The LAST place in the world that Fr. John wanted to go to preach the good news was to Moscow.  With the war going on his parents’ homeland, and with the general dismissal of religious teaching, this was an impossible task.  Besides, he was very busy with the line-up of preaching engagements in the US this lent.  So, he boarded the plane for San Francisco to do just that. But a terrible storm come in off the Pacific Ocean and made it impossible for the plane to get the west coast.  They landed with some difficulty in a small airport in South Dakota and John tried to take a bus to the coast to get there in time for his preaching engagement.  The bus ticket he secured was the last sold and the bus set out, but the storm, now a raging blizzard, swerved north, and all the roads were quickly closed.  The people on the bus, recognizing his Roman Collar begged him to pray for safety but the storm only became worse.  John got off in a small town in Colorado realizing that he was blessed to still be alive after the harrowing trip they had, so he grumpily gave up and told God if he wanted him to go to Moscow God would have to make it possible. 

A big truck driver was heading to Denver and offered to take John to the airport there and John was able get a ticket to Moscow, but he did not have enough money to pay for it.  A gentleman near him at the counter visited with him for a time and then offered to pay his way.  He was Russian and longed for his people to hear someone courageous enough to bring a faith message to them.

Father John reluctantly arrived in Moscow; certain he would be arrested.  Even more, he worried that God would end up being “soft hearted” and forgive the Russian people for their sins – which John was not enthusiastic about.  He had spent his life hating the Russians and did not want HIS God loving them!!!  He would much rather see them going to hell! 

Well the rest of the story was like a biblical tale –John preached, the people listened and expressed their repentance by undertaking penance and by demanding an end to the war.  John was angry at God because of his great mercy to John’s enemies.  Why should they be allowed to repent, and why would God require him to be God’s agent for that repentance?

Crazy story to hear in prayer, but I was struck by the question of exactly what the “sign of Jonas,” that Jesus is speaking about in today’s Gospel, is.  Is the “sign” the three days that Jonah was in a big sea creature’s stomach (a tomb)? Or was it the three days he traversed the city and announcing the end times unless people repented?  (Lots of three’s here to remind of us death and resurrection).  Was it the fact that the people heard his preaching, and their hearts were challenged?  Or is the Sign of Jonah, that we have received, simply the mercy of God for a “faithless generation”?   Or is the sign – that is no sign according to Jesus – all of these.  God loves, calls to repentance through his agent, and then heals the wrongdoing of enemies.  The condition of reception, because humans have free will, is that we acknowledge and accept God’s grace, not only for ourselves and our beloved, but for our enemies, despite the seeming impossibility of that.

This is a good way to start Lent.  To consider that we imitate God most perfectly when we grasp the sign of Jonah, God’s compassion for his enemies – for those who hate him.  During these days may we find the freedom to pray for our enemies – desiring the very best for each one.    I feel called to ask God in prayer who he wants me to announce forgiveness for.  May God begin with me – but may I become his partner in sharing that compassion among friends and enemies as Jonah did, and perhaps as my imaginary Fr. John the preacher might have done.

Oh God, in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my guilt . . . psalm 31