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Morning Devotion for the Season of Lent

March 1, 2023

Invitatory

To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, because we have rebelled against him and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by following his laws which he set before us.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without end. Amen.

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy: Come let us adore him.

Reading - Jonah 3:1-10

The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, ‘Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.’ So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, ‘Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’ And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.

When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: ‘By the decree of the king and his nobles: No human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. Human beings and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knows? God may relent and change his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not perish.’

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.



Meditation - Winnie Smith

I love the story of Jonah. This young boy follows God’s call to warn the Ninevites about their behavior, they listen and change, and God decides to spare them the terrible outcome he initially planned. It’s a win-win-win! And it’s perfectly appropriate for us to hear now, just one week into the season of Lent. Undoubtedly, we have all made mistakes. Already this morning, or this week, or this month. I know that I have failed to love God with all my heart, I have failed to love my neighbors as myself, and I have failed to thank God for all the good in my life, instead letting my frustrations and jealousy overwhelm me. So this reading, this reminder of the importance of reflection and repentance, is helpful.

Now I am not suggesting that we do exactly what the Ninevites did. We do not need to fast from all food and drinks, dress in sackcloth and “cry mightily to God.” But Lent is a season of self-reflection and fasting. It is a time to look inward, to see where we have gone astray and ignored God’s teaching. It is a time for fasting in some way - limiting those things which pull our attention from God. I hope that you all are finding ways to do this, whether by limiting time on social media or watching television, or maybe reading more, or taking on a new prayer practice.

If we were to read further in the book of Jonah, we would see that our young protagonist does not react graciously to God’s changed attitude towards the Ninevites. Instead, Jonah is angry and resentful that these people are being spared after he sacrificed so much to go and warn them of God’s impending wrath. How could God do that to him, the faithful servant who - after first trying to flee out of fear - followed through and acted as God’s messenger?

Jonah is mistaken in doing what we so often do: trying to judge right and wrong himself. He uses his own understanding of justice and fairness to legislate his, the Ninevites’, and God’s behavior. But God sees more and understands more than we can ever imagine. God knows, of course, all the good and bad we do. God sees that the Ninevites were sinful and selfish, but then repented and changed their behavior. And that change - that turning from self-interest to God’s interest - is what Lent is about. Let us look to the Ninevites for inspiration to improve our behavior and resist the temptation to look at others the way Jonah does, with judgment and bitterness. Doing so will bring us closer to God and, I think, bring us the gift of peace and a sense of gratitude.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,

   hallowed be thy Name,

   thy kingdom come,

   thy will be done,

       on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our trespasses,

   as we forgive those

       who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

   but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

   and the power, and the glory,

   for ever and ever. Amen.