Jonah 3:1-10 / Luke 11:29-32
What can be really surprising is when there is an unexpected conversion.
We may be able to think of a person who is corrupted to the core, and what comes out of that person is always something bad and wicked.
But when that person changes for the better, it will certainly surprise us.
In the the 1st reading, Jonah was certainly surprised that he was still alive after preaching the message of repentance to the Ninevites.
He thought that those evil Ninevites would have ripped him apart and fed his body to the wild beasts.
But the Ninevites actually believed in his message and even repented with fasting and penance.
That act of repentance was so stunning that even Jesus recalled that story in the gospel.
So let us not write off any one as being hopelessly bad and evil.
By the grace of God, and with our prayer for them, they will repent.
And we too will have a change of heart when we see how wonderful and powerful our prayer is in calling down God's grace of repentance on hardened sinners.