October 13 - Monday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time, Year I

(Rm.1:1-7;   Ps.98:1-4;   Lk.11:29-32)

 

“You have a greater than Jonah here.”

 

Greater than any prophet is He.  Wiser than Solomon is the Lord who is the source of all wisdom.  For it is He of whom the prophets speak; it is His promised coming “the Holy Scriptures record.”  The fulfillment of prophets and kings is in our midst.  Our high priest is with us offering the sacrifice of Himself.  Let us thirst for Him as the Ninevites did for Jonah’s preaching and seek Him as the queen of the South for Solomon’s wisdom.  Let us listen to His servant and apostle Paul as he proclaims the Gospel of God and come to “obedient faith” with all the Gentiles “who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ.”  Salvation is upon us as it is all nations.

If Jonah’s preaching was great, the Lord’s is the greater.  If he converted thousands, Jesus turns millions to the love of God.  If Solomon was wise, our Lord is so much the wiser.  For though this great king spoke well of all things of the earth by the grace of God, the Christ comes now with the wisdom of the richness of heaven.  And so now we are all “called to holiness, grace and peace.”  It is these gifts which are imparted to us “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”  And by these blessings we become His children, greater indeed than any prophet or king of old.

Yes, the fulfillment has come.  “The Lord has made His salvation known.”  “All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God.”  His Word is brought forth even now, even this day to our hearts in the preaching of the Gospel that is Christ Jesus – “His resurrection from the dead” signals the redemption of all mankind.  And so we celebrate.  And so we “sing to the Lord a new song” as we, too, participate in His death and resurrection with the beloved apostle Paul, even as we come to the table set before us by His grace and holiness.

May that same “Spirit of holiness” which made Jesus “Son of God in power” now touch our souls and separate us from all that is unholy.  May we respond in kind with the Ninevites to Jonah’s preaching, that they might not condemn us on the last day for our lack of faith.  May the wisdom which comes to us now by the grace poured forth from His lips sink into our hearts and find a place in our lives.  For no greater than He shall we find; let us not be blind to this sign.