Student Daily Reflection

[226] Jonah 3:1-10
Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 18-19
Luke 11:29-32

Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer
The Daily Reflections

“He rose from his throne, laid aside his robe,
covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes.”

When the King of Ninevah learned the news of the impending destruction of his city due to its pervading immoral atmosphere, he, along with the residents of Ninevah, made immediate and strict life changes in order to not only escape disaster, but also become moral people in the eyes of God. This theme seen in today’s readings of acknowledging past mistakes and working towards a better future, is one that I think we can find very relevant in this Lenten season.

As our lives continue onward and as we continue to inevitably make mistakes that set us back, we are also faced with an important decision following each of our blunders: whether we will choose to wallow in our mistakes and not acknowledge them in a constructive way, or conversely, choose to accept our mishaps and take steps forward that allow us to use both move on and learn from failure. In today’s readings, we see the Ninevites and the crowd in to which Jesus is speaking to being faced with that same decision. The Ninevites actively chose to reform and take strides away from their mistakes. They reevaluated their lives and made a difference for the better. Jesus is calling his disciples to do the same. We are called to have the courage to acknowledge our mistakes and move past them in a positive direction. Have the strength to be honest and break away from whatever may be holding us back from the people we know we can be. Perhaps this Lenten season we can all strive to not let our stumbling keep us down, but instead, take a few active steps away from our follies and fall forward into improvement. We have the same choice day after day that the Ninevites faced. We must remember to have faith in ourselves, knowing that there will always be someone who has never lost faith in us.