DEVOTIONAL MONDAY 5 OCTOBER 2015

Liturgical readings Monday, October 5, 2015

First reading Jonah 1: 1-17, 2:10
The word of the Lord came to Jonah, son of Amitai, thus: "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before me." But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of God; he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish. He paid the fare and went aboard it to go together with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. But the Lord sent a great wind into the sea, and there was a big storm, that the ship threatened to break. The sailors were afraid, and each cried to his god, and they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship. But Jonah had gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. The shipmaster came to him and said "What are you doing asleep? Get up, cried out to God, perhaps God will heed us, so that we do not perish." They said to one another: "Let us cast lots, that we know, because of who we are struck by this calamity." They cast lots and the lot fell upon Jonah. Said to him: "Tell us, because what we are overwritten by this catastrophe. What do you do and where you come from, what country, and from what people are you?" He said to them: "I am a Hebrew; I fear the Lord, the God of the heavens, who made the sea and the land." Those people became very afraid, and said to him: "What have you done?" For the men it knew that he fled from the presence of God. It has told them. Ask them: "Will we do with thee, that the sea became mitigated and did not attack us again, because the increasingly turbulent sea." He said to them: "Pick me, campakkanlah me into the sea, the sea will be mitigated and did not attack you again. For I know that because of me this great storm has come upon you." Then berdayunglah men with utmost to bring the ship back to land, but they could not, because the more turbulent sea attack them. Then they cried to the Lord, he said: "Oh my God, do not let you let us perish because of this man's life and Thou tanggungkan us innocent blood, for you, Lord, have done as Kaukehendaki." Then they took Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped raging. Those people became very afraid of the Lord, and offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows. Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah; and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. Then the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Psalm Jonah 2: 2 to 4.7
You mengangkatnyawaku from the grave
"In my distress I cried unto the Lord, and he answered me, from the midst of Sheol I cried, and you listen to my voice. Have you throw me into the deep, into the center of the ocean, then I is summarized by the flow of water; all the waves and thy over me. And I said I had been banished from your sight. I will look again thy holy temple? When my soul weary within me, I remembered the Lord, and my prayer came to You, into Thy holy temple.

Gospel reading Luke 10: 25-37
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus, saying, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him: "What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?" The man replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." Jesus said to him: "You have answered correctly; do this and you will live." But to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped-out, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. Incidentally, there is a priest going down that road; he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite came to the place and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Then came a Samaritan, who was on his way, to where it was; and when he and saw him, moved with his compassion. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, after he pouring oil and wine. Then he put the man on the donkey mounts own and bring it to the inn and cared for him. The next day he took out two dinars to the innkeeper, saying, Take care of him and whatever else you spend, I will repay you when I return. Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers? "The man replied:" People who had shown him mercy. "Jesus said to him:" Go and do likewise! "

Afterthought
Have you experienced the events like this:'ve been trying to shy away from the task, uh we still have to accept the job, There is the experience of a friend who shy away from the task of becoming the head of the working team of Christmas in his neighborhood, he did not come by accident while working team formation. He just said to the chairman of the neighborhood that later she would help it., And the meeting decided he should be the head of the working team. When she was told, she shook her head, had tried to escape but it remains appointed.
Jonah's experience in the first reading today is exactly the same experience, Since the beginning of Jonah refused when it had the duty to proclaim the word of God to the people of Nineveh, Jonah knew that God will be pardoned when the people of Nineveh repented. So he fled, he bought a boat ticket, then go away from the place and Nineveh, namely to Tarshish. But God made a terrible stormy sea, sehngga recounted in today's reading, Jonah must be cast into the sea, and by the favor of God, Jonah was in the belly of fish and the back shore leave after three days. Jonah made aware that God has chosen and sent him, should he have to keep left. Should he have to obey it, not have to miscellaneous or escape.

Items to contemplation
If God had willed, and we are appointed to carry out, let us obey it. We should not be shy, we do not stop the power of God's initiative. We will not be able to stop the goodness of God for those to whom we are sent. If the mission is a good thing for the safety of our neighbors, why do we still tried to avoid.

Prayer
O Lord, may we love and serve you with love as you have loved us in Jesus, Amen.