VOICE OF THE LOGOS: REFLECTION/HOMILY FOR WEDNESDAY OF THE TWENTY-SEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, YEAR 1

When God’s mercy towards others offends us, it’s a sign that we need conversion

First Reading: Jonah 4:1-11
Responsorial Psalm: Ps. 85(86):3-6,9-10
Gospel: Luke 11:1-4
______________________________

It is not unusual to meet people who like justice more than mercy. You see it when someone falls from grace and suddenly becomes a topic of gossip among those who once called him “brother.” When a known sinner is forgiven easily, we wonder why God didn’t make them suffer first. When a scandalous person suddenly turns to God, some churchgoers whisper, “Let’s see how long it lasts.” We prefer a God who rewards the good and punishes the bad instantly. Even in families, some feel annoyed when a “black sheep” is treated kindly again. It’s almost as if we secretly want God to behave according to our sense of fairness. But God’s mercy often crosses our boundaries. The Gospel says He is “kind to the ungrateful and to the wicked” (Luke 6:35). And this is exactly what irritated Jonah in the first reading today: Jonah was angry not because God was unjust, but because God was too kind. Jonah wanted to see sinners punished; God wanted to see them saved – the idea was that God would forgive people who didn’t deserve it. It’s not just Jonah’s story but ours too, because we often struggle with the same thing. Let’s reflect on this question that still follows us today: why do we get upset when God forgives someone we think does not deserve it?

The Book of Jonah was written around the fifth century before Christ, during the post-exilic period, when Israel was trying to rediscover its identity after returning from Babylon. The Jews believed they were God’s chosen people, and they looked at foreign nations as enemies of God. Jonah’s story was written like a parable to shock this attitude. It reminds Israel that God’s compassion is bigger than their national or moral pride. Now, Jonah had obeyed God’s command to go to Nineveh, a great Assyrian city known for cruelty and idolatry. The Assyrians had once destroyed Israel’s northern kingdom, leaving a painful scar in the nation’s memory. Jonah’s “hatred” was therefore human and meaningful. He wanted justice, not mercy. The Hebrew text says Jonah was “greatly displeased and became angry.” The word used for anger is “חָרָה” (harah), which literally means “to burn.” Jonah’s heart was burning with resentment because God’s love didn’t fit his logic. He even told God, “Isn’t this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled… because I knew You are gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love” (Jonah 4:2). What irony! The very character of God that saved Jonah earlier now offends him when extended to others. Yet God’s patience continues. When Jonah sulks under the shade of a plant, God teaches him through that simple image that His mercy is not selective, but it covers every life He has created. Jonah’s problem was not theology but a small heart. He believed in God but did not share His compassion. That’s the disease of many religious people today: knowing Scripture, quoting commandments, but struggling to love those who don’t fit their moral checklist.

The responsorial psalm (Psalm 86) becomes the perfect antidote to Jonah’s anger. It is a prayer of someone who knows that mercy is not earned but received. The psalmist says, “You, Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in love to all who call upon You.” The Hebrew word for mercy used here is חֶסֶד (hesed), meaning covenantal love, a loyal kindness that never gives up. It’s not a passing emotion; it’s a faithful commitment. Jonah wanted selective mercy; the psalmist sings of inclusive mercy. The psalm even proclaims, “All nations You have made will come and worship before You.” That line would have shocked Jonah’s generation because it broke the boundary between “us” and “them.” It reveals that the ultimate plan of God is universal salvation. The psalm shows that prayer changes perspective. While Jonah prays to complain, the psalmist prays to surrender. Jonah wanted God to think like him; the psalmist wants to think like God.

The Gospel (Luke 11:1-4) completes the teaching by placing mercy at the center of prayer. The disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray, and He gives them the Pater Noster. Every line of that prayer dismantles Jonah’s attitude. It begins with “Our Father,” not “my Father,” meaning we approach God together, even with people we dislike. The Greek word for “Father” is πατήρ (patēr), which expresses intimacy, dependence, and family relationship. When Jesus teaches us to call God patēr, He also teaches us that His mercy extends to every child. Then He adds, “Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.” The Greek verb ἀφίημι (aphiēmi) means to release or to let go. It is the same word used when Jesus releases people from demons or debts. Prayer, then, is not just words but release. Every time we say the Lord’s Prayer without forgiving others, we pray like Jonah sitting under his withered plant, angry at grace. The Our Father is a mirror: it either frees us or exposes us.

Dear friends in Christ, today’s readings invite us to examine the Jonah that lives quietly inside each of us. We are quick to preach against evil but slow to celebrate repentance. Jonah was religious but resentful; the psalmist was humble and open; Jesus was forgiving and free. When God’s mercy offends us, it’s a sign that our hearts need conversion. If we are angry that someone got blessed, forgiven, or restored, then Jonah’s shadow still lives in us. We must learn to pray not only for justice but also for mercy (for ourselves and for others). The more we call God “Father,” the more we must remember that He is also the Father of those we dislike. His mercy is not weakness but His greatest strength. So, when next we pray the words “forgive us,” let us mean them, not with Jonah’s clenched fists but with Jesus’ extended hands on the cross. Above all, the real test of holiness is not how often we pray, but how much we love like the One to whom we pray.

O that today you would listen to his VOICE, harden not your hearts! (Ps. 95:7)

____________________________

Shalom!
© Fr. Chinaka Justin Mbaeri, OSJ
Seminário Padre Pedro Magnone, São Paulo, Brazil
nozickcjoe@gmail.com / fadacjay@gmail.com

__________________________
Have you prayed your rosary today?