Jonah: hope and prayer
Catechesis by Pope Francis on Christian Hope
General Audience, Wednesday 18 January 2017 - in Arabic, Croatian, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese & Spanish
"Dear Brothers and Sisters, Good morning.
In Sacred Scripture, among the prophets of Israel, a rather anomalous figure stands out, a prophet who attempts to avoid the Lord’s call by refusing to place himself at the service of the divine plan of salvation. It is the Prophet Jonah, whose story is narrated in a small book of only four chapters, a type of parable that bears a great lesson, that of the mercy of God who forgives.
Jonah is a prophet “going out” and also a prophet in flight! He is an “out-going” prophet whom God sends “to the periphery”, to Nineveh, in order to convert the people of that great city. But Nineveh, to an Israelite like Jonah, was a threatening reality, the enemy which placed Jerusalem itself in peril, and therefore was to be destroyed, certainly not to be saved. Therefore, when God sent Jonah to preach in that city, the prophet, who knows the Lord’s goodness and his desire to forgive, seeks to avoid his task and flees.
During his flight, the prophet enters into contact with pagans, the mariners on the ship that he boarded in order to distance himself from God and from his mission. And he flees far, because Nineveh was in the area of Iraq and he fled to Spain, he seriously fled. And it was actually the behaviour of these pagan men, as that of the people of Nineveh later on, that today allows us to reflect a bit on the hope which, in the face of danger and death, is expressed in prayer.
Indeed, during the sea voyage, a mighty tempest breaks out, and Jonah goes down to the ship’s cargo hold and falls asleep. The mariners, however, seeing themselves lost, “each cried to his god”: they were pagans (Jon 1:5). The captain of the ship wakes Jonah, saying to him: “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, call upon your god! Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we do not perish” (Jon 1:6).
The reaction of these ‘pagans’ is the right reaction in the face of death, in the face of danger; because it is then that man fully experiences his frailty and his need for salvation.
The instinctive dread of dying reveals the necessity of hope in the God of life. “Perhaps God will give a thought to us, that we do not perish” are the words of hope which become prayer, that supplication filled with anguish which rises to the lips of mankind in the face of an imminent danger of death.
We too easily disdain the turning to God in need as if it were only a prayer of self-interest, and therefore imperfect. But God knows our weakness. He knows that we remember him in order to ask for help, and with the indulging smile of a father, God responds benevolently.
When Jonah, recognizing his responsibility, throws himself into the sea in order to save his travel companions, the storm quiets down. Incumbent death led those pagan men to prayer, enabling the prophet, in spite of it all, to live his vocation in service to others, sacrificing himself for them, and now he leads the survivors to recognize and praise the true Lord. The mariners who, in the grip of fear, had prayed to their gods, now, with sincere fear of the Lord, recognize the true God, offer sacrifices and make vows. Hope, which had induced them to pray to be spared from death, is revealed as even more powerful and ushers in a reality that goes even beyond what they were hoping: not only do they not perish in the storm, but they become open to recognizing the one true Lord of heaven and earth.
Afterwards, even the people of Nineveh, in the face of the prospect of being destroyed, pray, spurred by hope in God’s forgiveness. They do penance, invoke the Lord and convert to him, beginning with the king who, like the ship’s captain, gives voice to hope: “Who knows, God may yet repent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we perish not?” (Jon 3:9). For them too, as for the crew in the storm, facing death and being saved from it led them to the truth. Thus under divine mercy, and even more in the light of the Paschal Mystery, death can become, as it was for Saint Francis of Assisi, “our sister death” and represent, for every person and for each one of us, the surprising occasion to know hope and encounter the Lord. May the Lord help us to understand this link between prayer and hope. Prayer leads you forward in hope, and when things become dark, more prayer is needed! And there will be more hope. Thank you."
Saluti:
"Je salue cordialement les pèlerins de langue française, en particulier les jeunes venus de France, et les pèlerins de Nouvelle Calédonie. La Semaine de prière pour l’unité des chrétiens commence aujourd’hui. Notre espérance d’unité s’exprime par notre prière, c’est une espérance qui ne déçoit pas. Je vous invite à prier à cette intention. Que Dieu vous bénisse.
I greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, particularly those from New Zealand, the Philippines, Canada and the United States of America. Upon you and your families, I cordially invoke an abundance of joy and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you!
Gerne grüße ich die Pilger und Besucher deutscher Sprache. Zu Beginn der Gebetswoche für die Einheit der Christen heiße ich die Delegation des ökumenischen Europäischen Stationenwegs unter Leitung von Frau Präses Annette Kurschus herzlich willkommen. Liebe Brüder und Schwestern, eure Station in Rom ist ein bedeutsames ökumenisches Zeichen, das die Gemeinschaft unter uns, die durch den Dialogprozess in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten erreicht worden ist, zum Ausdruck bringt. Das Evangelium Christi steht im Mittelpunkt unseres Lebens und vereint Menschen, die eigene Sprachen sprechen, in verschiedenen Ländern wohnen und in unterschiedlichen Gemeinschaften den Glauben leben.
Es bewegt mich, wenn ich an das ökumenische Gebet im schwedischen Lund am vergangenen 31. Oktober zurückdenke. Im Geist jenes gemeinsamen Reformationsgedächtnisses schauen wir mehr auf das, was uns verbindet, als auf das, was uns trennt. So lasst uns unseren Weg gemeinsam fortsetzen, um unsere Gemeinschaft zu vertiefen und ihr eine immer sichtbarere Form zu geben.
In Europa bildet dieser gemeinsame Glaube in Christus gleichsam ein grünes Band der Hoffnung: Wir gehören zueinander. Gemeinschaft, Versöhnung und Einheit sind möglich. Als Christen sind wir dieser Botschaft verpflichtet und müssen sie mit unserem Leben bezeugen. Gott segne diesen Willen, eins zu werden, und beschütze alle Menschen, die den Weg zur Einheit beschreiten.
Saludo cordialmente a los peregrinos de lengua española, en particular a los grupos provenientes de España y Latinoamérica. En la oración, nuestra esperanza no se ve defraudada. En esta Semana de oración que hoy iniciamos pidamos insistentemente al Padre por la unidad de todos los cristianos. Que Dios los bendiga.
Com sentimentos de grata estima, vos saúdo, caríssimos peregrinos de língua portuguesa, em particular a vós, jovens do grupo «The Brazilian Tropical Violins», lembrando a todos que hoje tem início o Oitavário de Oração pela Unidade dos Cristãos, um motivo mais de apelo à nossa comunhão de preces e de esperanças. O movimento ecuménico vai frutificando, com a graça de Deus. O Pai do Céu continue a derramar as suas bênçãos sobre os passos de todos os seus filhos. Irmãs e irmãos muito amados, servi a causa da unidade e da paz!
أُرحّبُ بالحجّاجِ الناطقينَ بالّلغةِ العربيّة، وخاصّةً بالقادمينَ من الشّرقِ الأوسط. أيُّها الإخوةُ والأخواتُ الأعزّاءُ، الصّلاة هي المفتاح الذي يفتح قلب الله الرحيم. إنّها قوّة الكنيسة العظمى التي يجب علينا ألاّ نتخلى عنها أبداً. كونوا "مواظبين بنفس واحدة على الصّلاة" مثل السيّدة العذراء والرّسل! ليبارككُم الربُّ!
Pozdrawiam serdecznie pielgrzymów polskich. Bracia i siostry, dzisiaj rozpoczyna się Tydzień Modlitw o Jedność Chrześcijan. Jego hasło: „Pojednanie – miłość Chrystusa przynagla nas”, jest dla nas wezwaniem. Prośmy Boga, by wszystkie wspólnoty chrześcijańskie, poznając lepiej własną historię, teologię i prawo, coraz pełniej otwierały się na pojednanie. Niech nas przenika duch życzliwości, zrozumienia i chęć współpracy. Wam tu obecnym i tym, którzy łączą się w modlitwie, z serca błogosławię.
Pozdravljam hrvatske hodočasnike! S osobitom radošću pozdravljam djecu i mlade iz Bosne i Hercegovine te njihove domaćine - obitelji sa Sicilije. Dragi mladi, provodeći zajedno vrijeme kao braća i sestre u obiteljima koje vas primaju, imate mogućnost rasta u ozračju nade. Samo ćete tako vi, mladi katolici, pravoslavni i muslimani, moći sačuvati nadu kako biste živjeli u bratskijem, pravdenijem i mirnijem svijetu, koji je iskreniji i više po mjeri čovjeka. Ostanite uvijek čvrsti u vjeri i molite za mir i jedinstvo vaše zemlje i cijeloga svijeta. Od srca zahvaljujem obiteljima domaćinima na primjeru ljubavi i kršćanske solidarnosti: djecu treba uvijek braniti, štititi i primati s ljubavlju. Obećajem vam svoju duhovnu blizinu te svima vama udjeljujem Apostolski blagoslov.
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Rivolgo un cordiale benvenuto ai pellegrini di lingua italiana. Saluto il pellegrinaggio delle Suore Agostiniane Serve di Gesù e di Maria, i Religiosi Agostiniani e l’Associazione Notai Cattolici, accompagnata dall’Arcivescovo di Assisi, Mons. Domenico Sorrentino. A tutti formulo l’auspicio che la visita alla Città Eterna stimoli ciascuno ad approfondire la Parola di Dio per poter riconoscere in Gesù il Salvatore.
Saluto infine i giovani, i malati e gli sposi novelli. Oggi inizia la Settimana di preghiera per l’unità dei cristiani, che quest’anno ci fa riflettere sull’amore di Cristo che spinge alla riconciliazione. Cari giovani, pregate affinché tutti i cristiani tornino ad essere un’unica famiglia; cari ammalati, offrite le vostre sofferenze per la causa dell’unità della Chiesa; e voi, cari sposi novelli, fate esperienza dell’amore gratuito come è quello di Dio per l’umanità."
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