Homily for the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 21, 2024, Year B
Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) Nineveh was the oldest and most populous city of the ancient Assyrian Empire. Its ruins are located on the east bank of the Tigris River opposite the modern city of Mosul in Iraq. The Ninevites were a great empire known for their ruthlessness. They were the sworn enemies of the Jews. Each despised the other and yet Jonah, a Jew, was sent by God to them. The Ninevites were going to end the Israelite civilization in a few years, but it was to them that God sent Jonah. Jonah definitely did not want to go to them, but God made sure that he did in spite of Jonah’s efforts to avoid the task to which God had called him. After the episode with the whale Jonah finally ended up on their shore. He went to them, and they repented of their evil ways. They acted immediately on God’s word. Jonah was there only one day in what was to be a three-day journey. That’s the key idea. On hearing God’s word proclaimed to th