Thisprophecy was fulfilled in the life of our Lord Jesus. For the sake of savingmankind from eternal perdition, the only begotten Son, God the Logos wasincarnated. Since death was in the way of our salvation, He yearned to gothrough it, because of His love to us. His life on earth was a chain ofsufferings, from His childhood till He went to the cross to suffer the judgmentof our sins. We are those who sinned and the Lord was the One who suffered. Weare those who were indebted to divine justice as a result of our sins and Hewas the One who paid off our debts.
In today's secular society, being a Christian can be an overwhelming thing. Over time, American culture has changed from somewhat conservative to exceptionally liberal, thus allowing many things that were previously unacceptable such as denying Jesus openly, same-sex marriage, drugs, and alcohol to become casually tolerated and at often times encouraged. We as Christians are faced with these pressures from society daily, but we must not conform. We are ambassadors of Christ, and we have a duty to stand up to such adversity and fight it with the word of God. Without the knowledge and wisdom that we can gain form His word: the Bible, we have no defense.
The Church has a strong program during this fast put by the Fathers
through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, which became to the soul a
source of survival and spiritual filling, and to the Church a source
of communal repentance and deep fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ
in His fast…for Christ fasted for us and with us-- and certainly He is
a partner with each fasting soul.
The monks used to take this
opportunity of the holy fast to leave their monasteries to the
wilderness in solitude and in the fullness of the company of the Lord
Jesus and the fellowship of His Holy Spirit. At the end of Lent they
returned to their monasteries (as was recorded for us in the story of
Saint Mary the Egyptian and her meeting with Saint Zosima the priest).
Jonahwas thrown into the sea, yet he was not thrown unto death. God'sProvidence still held him, and God was still with His plan of sendinghim to the city of Nineveh for the sake of its salvation.
Is this man, O Lord, still suitable for this great ministry, after all that he has done?
Yes.This Jonah is My son, and My beloved. He is also My prophet, and I willsend him to Nineveh. If he sinned I will correct him and make himuseful for My ministry. I will save his soul and save the city throughhim. This unpolished stone, I undertake to chisel until I make itsuitable for building.
Indeed, God is wondrous in His long-suffering. He does not hastily abandon or become angry with His servants who fall.
Jonah disobeyed God's command and fled in a ship, but God who brings
"out of the eater came something to eat, and out of the strong came
something sweet" (Judg. 14:14); God who is able to turn evil into good,
was also able to make use of Jonah's disobedience.
If it was through Jonah's obedience that the people of Nineveh were to
be saved, it was through his disobedience that the mariners would be
saved.
When Jonah disobeyed the Lord he went down into a ship where there was
a people belonging to the Lord, whom the Lord loved and sought to save.
They were gentiles like the people of Nineveh, and were likewise in
need of salvation. Let their salvation be through Jonah's disobedience.
Jonah was an instrument in the hand of the Lord by which He conquered,
with its obedience and with its disobedience.
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