The power of repentance Jn 3:1-5, 10; Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9; 1 Cor 7:29-31; Mk 1:14-20 Jonah is the odd man out among the prophets of ancient Israel. His mission was not to the people of Israel but to the people of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire. This empire dismembered the kingdom of Israel and annexed its territory. Upon hearing Jonah’s message, the Assyrian king led his people in repentance. Their repentance moved God to rescind the words of judgment that Jonah was commissioned to announce. Jonah had the kind of success his fellow prophets did not enjoy. Instead of being elated by his success in leading the Assyrians to repent, Jonah is angry (Jn 3:1). The one test of a prophet’s authenticity is the fulfillment of the prophet’s word (Dt 18:2-22). Because God relented following the repentance of the people of Nineveh, Jonah’s reputation as the prophet suffered a severe blow. Jonah knew that this would happen. That is the reason he tried to refuse the commission to preach to the people of Nineveh. Once Jonah’s announcement of Nineveh’s destruction was not fulfilled, people would consider him to be deluded at best and a charlatan at worst. God, of course, replied that the lives of the people of Nineveh were worth far more than the prophet’s reputation. Jonah knew the power of repentance and the readiness of God to respond with forgiveness: “I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, abounding in kindness, repenting of punishment” (Jn 4:2). This is the image of God behind Jesus’ announcement at the beginning of his ministry: “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel” (Mk 1:15b). Jesus repeated the message of John the Baptist, who called people to repent. John announced that God was going to act soon, so the time available for repentance was limited. Jesus, however, announced that God had already begun to act: “This is the time of fulfillment” (Mk 1:15a). The final and decisive move of God in Israel’s life was something that the prophets announced and the people were expecting. Jesus proclaims that it is all beginning to happen. The proper response to this call to repentance is a complete reorientation of one’s life with God. Half measures will just not do. What makes such a response feasible is faith in Jesus as the one sent from God. The disciples’ following of Jesus required them to make a complete turnaround. They left their jobs and their families to follow Jesus as he visited the towns and villages around the Sea of Galilee, calling people to repentance and faith. Jesus is the answer to the prayers in today’s responsorial psalm; “Teach me your ways, O Lord.” As they accompany Jesus, the disciples will learn the Lord’s ways. They, in turn, will become teachers themselves as they raise up a new generation of disciples. The repentance that Jesus calls for is more than an attempt to be a better person, abandoning self-destructive and hurtful behaviors. Jesus calls us to reorient our lives, making our relationship with God the driving force our lives — not simply one aspect of our lives, albeit an important one. Jesus calls for something more radical. Responding to Jesus’ invitation requires faith that our repentance is not self-delusional, but the way to discover our truest self and achieve our truest happiness. Because Jonah was too concerned about his own reputation as a prophet, he was willing to deny this to the people of Nineveh. Today we are the only ones standing in the way of finding our truest happiness that is the fruit of our repentance. Today’s Scriptures demonstrate the power of repentance. It opens us to a life with God that helps us become the people God created us to be. Jesus calls us to repentance as surely as he did to the people of Galilee, Judah and Jerusalem. Jesus calls us to discipleship as surely as he called Simon, Andrew, James and John. For this we give thanks.
About the Author Father Leslie Hoppe, OFM, is professor emeritus of Old Testament Studies at Catholic Theological Union, 5416 S. Cornell Ave., Chicago.