Running Away

Reflection on Jonah 1: 1-16 – 2: 1-2, 11

Don’t we all have experiences of running away from God like Jonah?

A few days ago, a friend texted me, telling me that she wanted to talk because she feels so far away from God. Perhaps, of all the people around she asked me for an advice because she thinks that I am closer to God, because I’m a Prenovice. Personally, I feel uncomfortable sharing spiritual advice to other people, knowing that I’m a spiritual baby myself. So I just share

d whatever I could share with her.

Her questions led me to reflect on my own life and my relationship with God. Though it is true that here in Arvisu we’re given time to pray, we receive the sacraments regularly and learn our catechism, there were moments, that I still find myself feeling that I am far-away from God. And when I look back at my life, I realized that there were many moments, like Jona

h, that I turned away from God. Because of the bad choices I made, my sinfulness andlack of faith.

If we look into the bible, it is not only Jonah who tried to run away from God. The closest to my heart and is known to all of us, is the story of the prodigal son, who amidst all the goodness of the father to him, asked for his inheritance and left home to live a debauched life.

In my life, I’ve asked many times why do I run away from God. Why do I run from Him who has been so good and gracious to me and has given me life?

One day, I was praying with a feeling of being so far away from the Lord, because of sin. But deep in my heart, I feel the

Lord is always ready to accept me and forgive me no matter what. I’ve always known him as the merciful and loving Father. But this time, feeling so impatient with myself and feeling undeserving of this grace, I askedHim, why Lord? How can you let me turn away from you? Can’t you just take me out of this struggle and intervene that I might forever be united with you? Then it hit me like a tidal wave. The mystery is this: that I am loved so much by the Lord that he gives me even the freedom to

turn away from Him. Like letting Jonah escape. Like letting the prodigal son leave home. But one thing remains true, that the Lord is ready to accept me when I get back to my own senses to do his will. Like Jonah, who needs to be thrown out of the sea and get swallowed by a fish before obeying the Lords will to give His message to the people of Nineveh. He will always be patient with me and will be waiting, ever ready to receive me back again in His arms when I return, like the homecoming of

the prodigal son.

In the Gospel when a growing opposition came to Jesus, he asked his apostle “Will you also go?” He doesn’t demand that they stay, He will surely understand if they won’t. And Peter, answered, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and convinced that you are the Messiah.”

God’s love and mercy endures, even if we turn away from Him. It is so great a love beyond our understa

nding, but holds true in our life of faith. Like the psalmist expressed in his beautiful wondering… how can I escape from your love Lord? If climb to the heavens you are there, even to the sunrise or beyond the sea, I still find you there.

So let us come before the merciful Lord, remembering the many times that we have veered away from him and the many times too that the Lord welcomed us in his loving arms. Let us thank him for his great unconditional love for all of us.