Unlikely Prophets.

In The Sign of Jonas, Thomas Merton uses the story of Jonah’s sojourn in the whale as a metaphor for the often arduous journey we face when we seek to follow Christ. It’s a metaphor I find comforting. Jonah is a reluctant prophet. Aren’t we all a bit hesitant at times to speak up? He becomes trapped in the belly of a whale, which reflects those dark times of suffering or upheaval that shake us and force us to reexamine who we are and what we are doing with our lives. When Jonah finally breaks free of his captivity, he emerges a changed man. He goes on to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh. He calls them—and by extension us—to live more compassionate and holy lives.

Jonah’s story, like Merton’s monastic journey, is about personal transformation. It’s also a reminder that sometimes the prophets among us are the most unlikely of people. St. Paul tells us that we all receive “the grace of apostleship.” We don’t need to live in a monastery. We don’t need to be “ordained.” We do need to preach the Gospel by the way we conduct our lives.

“This generation is an evil generation,” Jesus says, comparing his time to that of Jonah. Certainly we can point to evils in today’s society: inequality among people, the many ravages of war, a lack of compassion toward immigrants and refugees. But Jesus also says, “there is something greater than Jonah here.” It is the example that Christ left us to feed the hungry, heal the sick, companion the prisoner, and comfort the brokenhearted.

How can we be a sign of Jonah today?

Judith Valente. Taken from Give Us This Day.

Judith Valente is a journalist, poet, and author of several books, most recently How to Live: What the Rule of St. Benedict Teaches Us About Happiness, Meaning, and Community. Her website is www.judithvalente.com.