Three day Lent – Day 1 – The Call of Life

Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth! For the Lord has spoken: “I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows it’s master , and the donkey its master’s manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.

Isaiah 1:2-3

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus

Yesterday, on the 40th day after Christmas, the Indian Orthodox Church commemorated the Feast of Mayaltho (or more commonly known as Presentation of the Infant Jesus at the Jerusalem Temple). With this, the church completes commemorating all the events surrounding the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, from Annunciation to the priest Zechariah to the point where the infant Jesus is brought into the Temple and presented before God. And just as suddenly, the Church plunges herself by observing the Three day fast, also commonly known as the Nineveh Fast. The Church observes the fast for three days commemorating the days spend by the Prophet Jonah in the stomach of the fish and also its significance with Jesus being in the tomb of earth after His crucifixtion.

We are all aware of the story of Prophet Jonah. The story of the Prophet Jonah is mentioned in the book of Jonah, which consists of only 4 chapters, where we are told that Prophet Jonah was a prophet of the kingdom of Israel. He was asked by God to go to the city of Nineveh and preach against the atrocities conducted by the citizens of the city. But Jonah fearing the trials to be faced if he went to Nineveh, he prepared to go the complete opposite way and go to the city of Tarsish. While on the journey, the ship and its crew came face to face with a devastating storm to the point of almost sinking. Jonah then orders the crew to cast him overboard, whereupon he is swallowed by a giant fish. Three days later, after Jonah agrees to go to Nineveh, the fish vomits him out onto the shore.  And from there he goes to the city of Nineveh to prophesy to the people.

While I was trying to think about why the Church prescribes this period of fasting, right after a period of celebration, I tried to relate it to the life of a Christian. When a child is expected in the life of a couple, the couple and their family members wait expectantly for the birth of the child, which is a period of jubilation in the household. The parents then prepare the child and prepare themselves to present the child in the Temple of God and among the congregation by baptizing the child. And through baptism, as St. Peter says in his epistle, he becomes a member of “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9).

So, co-relating the life of Jesus and the story of Jonah, each Christian who has been baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity is called for the same mission which Jesus showed during His life on earth, to be a person of God’s own possession and to show His light to the dark world. Jonah was called from the country of Israel and not only asked to go to its neighboring country of Assyria, which was also its enemy, but to the major city of Assyrians, the city of Nineveh. When we read the book of Jonah, we learn that God was not angry at the Assyrians or the city of Nineveh in particular, but He was angry at the atrocities conducted by the citizens of Nineveh. What were the atrocities conducted by them? Few of the atrocities are as follows:

• The Assyrians and their King was a blood thirsty nation, bent upon conquering the nations all around them through ruthless warfare.
• Outside of the Bible, Nineveh was known for having been a great, lawless, and ruined city.
• There are accounts where it is written that the people of Nineveh burnt the war captives on fire and used to eat them.

Considering these atrocious behavior of the people, it was no wonder that Jonah, fearing for his life ran the opposite way to the city of Tarsish. When we compare our life to the life of Jonah, we too in our daily lives are afraid to fulfill the ministry that God has placed in our life and try to run away in the opposite direction, fearing the trials and tribulations that we would face if we listen to the will of God. We are always doubting, just like Moses, who was doubtful of his speech due to his stammering tongue, in the grace of God that He has blessed us during our baptism.

When we look at the call of Jonah, when he boarded the ship to Tarsish, it bears a stark resemblance to the call of God to the first man in the garden of Eden. In the garden of Eden, man enjoyed a close relationship with God, talking face-to-face and walking hand-in-hand with God. Some poets of our Church have sung that heavenly beings were jealous of such a relationship between the Creator and the creation. But due to the birth of sin in the life of man, shame crept in their life which affected this beautiful relationship between God and man, forcing man to hide from the presence of God and ultimately to be thrown out of the garden of Eden.

When we look at the life of Jesus, the complete man and complete God, the God-man, the role of His life was to bridge back this communion between God and man, making man able to see God face to face. And just as Jesus told us, it is our duty as Christians to proclaim this Good News to the ends of the world and not fear the trials and tribulations that we might face, but have courage in the grace of God which is given through the Holy Spirit when we are in need.

So let us, brother and sisters in Christ, prepare ourselves during these three days, as Jonah prepared himself, and boldly proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God and about the love of God and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to all the people around us. May the love of Christ guide us in our lives.

Your brother in Christ Jesus

Jobin George