Jonah 3:1-10 / Luke 11:29-32
Human beings are in many ways very subjective people in that their attitudes and reactions depend very much on what they see in front of them and who they see in front of them.
If who we see in front of us is just an ordinary person in casual clothes, we will naturally be casual and ordinary in the way we communicate with that person.
On the other hand, if in front us is a person with status and prestige, then we immediately be polite and formal in the way we talk with the person.
Similarly, speaking to a small group of people is very different from speaking to a large group of people.
We heard in the gospel that as the crowds got even bigger, Jesus addressed them with these words: This is a wicked generation; it is asking for a sign.
With the crowd getting bigger, He could have just eaten up the publicity and then have the crowds eating out of His hand. But He had tough words for them.
Similarly with Jonah whom we heard about in the 1st reading. He went into Nineveh which was a great city beyond compare.
Being a foreigner in a great city, he could have taken the safer way and used softer words and leave them guessing what his message was.
But tough words are necessary to break open the hardness of sin so that the heart can be free to heed the call to repentance.
So let us brace ourselves to listen to tough words from whom we think are ordinary people. When we pay heed to them, they may in turn bring about healing for us.