First reading Jonah 4:1-11
Jonah is angry at God’s mercy
Jonah was very indignant; he fell into a rage. He prayed to the Lord and said, ‘Ah, Lord, is not this just as I said would happen when I was still at home? That was why I went and fled to Tarshish: I knew that you were a God of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in graciousness, relenting from evil. So now, Lord, please take away my life, for I might as well be dead as go on living.’ The Lord replied, ‘Are you right to be angry?’
Jonah then went out of the city and sat down to the east of the city. There he made himself a shelter and sat under it in the shade, to see what would happen to the city. Then the Lord God arranged that a castor-oil plant should grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head and soothe his ill-humour; Jonah was delighted with the castor-oil plant. But at dawn the next day, God arranged that a worm should attack the castor-oil plant – and it withered.
Next, when the sun rose, God arranged that there should be a scorching east wind; the sun beat down so hard on Jonah’s head that he was overcome and begged for death, saying, ‘I might as well be dead as go on living.’ God said to Jonah, ‘Are you right to be angry about the castor-oil plant?’ He replied, ‘I have every right to be angry, to the point of death.’ The Lord replied, ‘You are only upset about a castor-oil plant which cost you no labour, which you did not make grow, which sprouted in a night and has perished in a night. And am I not to feel sorry for Nineveh, the great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, to say nothing of all the animals?’
Responsorial Psalm 85(86):3-6,9-10
You, O Lord, have mercy and compassion.
You are my God, have mercy on me, Lord,
for I cry to you all the day long.
Give joy to your servant, O Lord,
for to you I lift up my soul.
O Lord, you are good and forgiving,
full of love to all who call.
Give heed, O Lord, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my voice.
All the nations shall come to adore you
and glorify your name, O Lord:
for you are great and do marvellous deeds,
you who alone are God.
Gospel Luke 11:1-4
How to pray
Once Jesus was in a certain place praying, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’
He said to them, ‘Say this when you pray:
‘“Father, may your name be held holy,
your kingdom come;
give us each day our daily bread,
and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive each one who is in debt to us.
And do not put us to the test.”’
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Do you love me?
In today’s gospel passage, Jesus came seeking Peter out, not to chide him for denying Him three times, but to allow him to renew his friendship with Him. Three times, Peter denied Jesus. In the passage, Jesus affirmed Peter by asking him three times, “Do you love me?”. For Jesus, the past failure of Peter could not stop Jesus from loving him and keeping His faith in him. Each time Peter declared his love for Him, Jesus entrusted him with the mission of being the shepherd of His flock.
Today, Jesus asks us the same question, “Do you love me?” This question invites us to make Jesus the centre of our lives. Our messy and imperfect lives do not stop Jesus from calling us to help Him be part of His mission of feeding the people around us with God’s love and leading them to Him. Let us renew our love for Jesus because everything flows from our union with Him.
Reflective question:
What is my response to Jesus’ question, “Do you love me?”?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year A” by Sr Sandra Seow FMVD.
